Doctor took selfie with Joan Rivers while she was under anesthesia

According to new reports,the doctor who performed a biopsy on Joan Rivers’ vocal cords stopped to take a selfie in the procedure room while she was under anesthesia and just moments before she went into cardiac arrest last month.

A member of staff at Manhattan's Yorkville Endoscopy clinic told investigators about the physician's questionable behavior.

Rivers, 81, was at the clinic for a scheduled endoscopy by another doctor, gastroenterologist Dr. Lawrence Cohen. That procedure, intended to help diagnose her hoarse voice and sore throat, involved the insertion of a camera down her throat.After Cohen, the clinic's medical director, finished his work, a biopsy was done on Rivers without her prior consent, according to the source.


An ear, nose and throat specialist not certified by the clinic as required by law performed a biopsy on her vocal cords. The doctor is described by the source as Rivers' personal ear-nose-throat physician.

  Investigators believe that Rivers' vocal chords began to swell during the allegedly unauthorized biopsy, cutting off the flow of oxygen to her lungs, which led to cardiac arrest on the morning of August 29, CNN