Did doctor take selfie during operation?

As more details of the death of American comedienne Joan Rivers come to light, her doctor’s behaviour is being questioned. The 81-year-old Ms Rivers died after a cardiac arrest during a routine endoscopy at Yorkville Endoscopy clinic in Manhattan. She was being investigated for a sore throat and hoarse voice.

The clinic issued a soothing statement to the press after the death about the kind of anaesthesia it used and the high quality of its care.

CNN alleges that the comedian’s personal doctor, Gwen Korovin, took a selfie while her patient was sedated and also, without her consent, took a biopsy of her vocal cords. “Even though you are a licensed physician, you still should have, if you will, the checks and balances to get your approval to practice in that particular place,” said bioethicist Arthur Caplan, of New York University’s Langone Medical Center. CNN says that Dr Korovin, a respected otolaryngologist, has denied taking a selfie with her cell phone.

The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery has placed the clinic on “emergency suspension.” and asked it stop procedures and surgeries “until accreditation questions are settled.”

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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