Doctor Who Performed Joan Rivers Procedure Asked To Step Down
The doctor who was performing a routine throat procedure on actress Joan Rivers when she went into cardiac arrest in August has reportedly been asked to step down from his position at Yorkville Endoscopy in Manhattan.
The clinic told ABC news that Dr. Lawrence Cohen, the doctor who performed Rivers' endoscopy on August 28, is "not currently performing procedures at Yorkville Endoscopy; nor is he currently serving as medical director."
Another source told ABC News that the doctor had been asked to step down because he had reportedly authorized a specialist who was not affiliated with Yorkville Endoscopy to help perform the August 28 procedure on Rivers. The procedure involved an endoscopy that was meant to examine Rivers' vocal chords and determine why her voice had grown raspy over the past several months.
Rivers, known as a comedic legend and trailblazer for females in Hollywood, died September 4 at Mount Sinai hospital in New York City. She had stopped breathing and gone into cardiac arrest during her endoscopy, and hospitals at Mount Sinai put her on life support. Her daughter, Melissa, ultimately chose to remove her 81-year-old mother from life support.
Rivers' funeral was held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan on September 7 and attended by several A-List celebrities, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Kelly Osbourne, Kathy Griffin and many more.
