Rivers’ doctor took selfie during throat procedure

Joan Rivers’ doctor took a selfie while performing an unauthorised procedure on the comedienne’s throat that caused her to stop breathing, according to reports.

The doctor — Rivers’ personal ear, nose and throat physician who has not yet been identified — was not authorised to practice at the clinic, Manhattan’s Yorkville Endoscopy, where Rivers had gone in for a routine endoscopy, according to CNN.

The source CNN spoke to said that Yorkville’s medical director, Dr Lawrence Cohen, who has since resigned from his post, stepped aside to let Rivers’ doctor — who snapped a selfie while Rivers was under anaesthesia — perform a biopsy without her prior consent.

A report last week also claimed that Rivers’ doctor performed an unauthorised biopsy.

However, Yorkville Endoscopy released a statement in response to that report, saying a biopsy had never been performed at the clinic, but did not mention Rivers by name due to confidentiality laws.

Rivers, 81, never regained consciousness after being rushed to the hospital and died a week later. Her death is under investigation by the New York State Health Department and the city’s medical examiner.

Dr Cohen has been listed in New York state records as a co-owner of Yorkville Endoscopy.

He has taught at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, contributed to more than 150 books and articles on gastroenterology and lectured on various topics.