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Unplanned biopsy stopped Joan Rivers' breathing

Joan Rivers' vocal cords seized during a biopsy and she stopped breathing
Joan Rivers' vocal cords seized during a biopsy and she stopped breathing

It's been claimed that Joan Rivers had an unplanned throat biopsy that caused her to stop breathing and ultimately led to her death.

The New York Daily News is reporting the story and quoting an anonymous medical source to give it validity.

Rivers had originally gone to Yorkville Endoscopy, outpatient endoscopic healthcare facility in Manhattan, to undergo routine vocal cord surgery.

The Daily News source says a doctor, who was part of Rivers' entourage, volunteered to perform the biopsy after another doctor spotted something on Rivers' vocal cords.

According to the source, Rivers' vocal cords seized during the biopsy and she stopped breathing. The source adds such procedures are generally only performed at hospitals, and Rivers might have recovered had she been in a hospital when it occurred.

Rivers died on September 4, a week after the procedure.

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