The New York clinic where Joan Rivers was undergoing treatment when she stopped breathing has issued a statement.
Rumours had surfaced in the US press claiming that the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic had conducted a vocal cord biopsy on the comedian, adding that such a procedure should only be performed in a hospital.
"A biopsy of the vocal cords has never been performed at Yorkville Endoscopy," read the statement, which did not mention Rivers by name.
"General anaesthesia has never been administered at Yorkville Endoscopy.
"The type of sedation used at Yorkville Endoscopy is monitored anaesthesia care. Our anaesthesiologists utilize light to moderate sedation."
It continued: "Our anaesthesiologists monitor the patient continuously utilizing state-of-the-art monitoring equipment, and remain at the bedside throughout the procedure and into recovery.
"Yorkville Endoscopy has strict policies in place for the criteria of who gets treated in this centre versus in a hospital.
"Every patient is pre-screened by their gastroenterologist, an anaesthesiologist and a nurse for appropriateness to be treated at Yorkville Endoscopy. Some patients are also pre-screened by their personal physicians."
Rivers was put on life support after the incident but despite being moved out of intensive care on September 3, she died the following day at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Before her death, the New York State Health Department confirmed that a "full investigation" into Yorkville Endoscopy was underway and that investigators had visited the premises.
An initial autopsy found no clear "cause and manner" of death for the 81-year-old.
