It now appears that an astonishing case of medical malpractice may have caused the death of comedienne Joan Rivers according to a new report by the New York Daily News. Rivers arrived at Yorkville Endoscopy, a Manhattan out-patient clinic, to have a very routine endoscopy performed on her vocal chords. According to the Daily News, an otolaryngologist who accompanied Rivers to the procedure to observe the procedure being performed by the clinic's doctor, noticed something on Rivers' vocal chords and asked the attending physician to use his instruments to take a biopsy of what he observed. Rivers had only consented to the endoscopy procedure and had been put under a general anesthesia.
Medical experts tell the Daily News that a biopsy of the vocal chords is only to be performed in a hospital setting. The unplanned biopsy caused Rivers vocal chords to seize, cutting off her air supply. The clinic had to call 911 and transport Rivers to a hospital where she was immediately placed on life support. If the biopsy has been performed in a hospital, sources told the Daily News, Rivers' tragic death could have been avoided. Yorkville Endoscopy had performed about 18,000 procedures since it opened in 2013 and had an exceptional safety record that far exceeds the national average according to the report. Rivers had entered the clinic only to have her vocal chords observed up close to determine what was causing her voice to become so raspy.
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