Joan Rivers: Doctor That Did Unauthorized Biopsy And Snapped ‘Selfie’ With Unconscious Rivers Identified

The doctor that performed the unauthorized biopsy on Joan Rivers that led to her death has been identified by TMZ as Dr. Gwen Korovin.

Known as the “patron saint of Broadway singers and actors,” Dr. Korovin was identified via “multiple sources” as the doctor that accompanied Joan Rivers to her vocal cord surgery at Yorkville Endoscopy in New York’s Upper East Side. Korovin, an ear, nose and throat doctor, was not authorized to perform any procedures at Yorkville Endoscopy. However, when the attending physician noticed something unusual during the vocal cord procedure on the 81 year-old Joan Rivers, Korovin allegedly requested permission to perform an “impromptu biopsy.”

The unauthorized biopsy caused Joan Rivers’ larynx to seize up, cutting off her air supply and causing respiratory and cardiac arrest. The iconic comedienne was rushed to Mont Sinai Hospital by emergency workers. Once there, doctors placed Rivers in a medically-induced coma until they could be “comfortable”‘ with her condition. Reports surfaced that even if Joan came out of the coma, her brain function could be permanently damaged to the extent that she may have to spend what life she had left bed ridden or in a wheelchair.

Doctors attempted to pull Rivers out of the coma, a process that took several days. It is not known if Joan ever fully regained consciousness, but she was moved to a private room while the entertainment world waited on pins and needles for news. Finally, Joan’s daughter, Melissa, announced that Rivers had passed away eight days after entering the hospital. The life support systems that were keeping Rivers alive were turned off on September 4.

At once, indications of foul play at Yorkville Endoscopy started to surface. When the news broke that an unauthorized biopsy may have been performed on Joan Rivers, the family spoke out that it may be pursuing legal action.

Yesterday, the news broke that the doctor that had performed the biopsy may have snapped a “selfie” with Joan Rivers while the comedienne was under anesthesia on the operating table according to CNN.

The New York Daily News reports that Dr. Korovin fled her E. 77th Street offices just before the news broke, and could not be reached for comment at her West Village home.

A spokeswoman at the Yorkville Endoscopy Clinic, Marcia Horowitz, would not confirm the report that Korovin was the doctor that performed the unauthorized biopsy on Joan Rivers.

“As per HIPPA laws, we do not identify patients or their physicians.”

Dr. Gwen Korovin’s patients have included Nathan Lane, Hugh Jackman, Kristin Chenoweth, Julie Andrews, Mick Jagger, and Celine Dion, who, after winning a Grammy in 1999, thanked Korovin for saving her voice.

Melissa Rivers, nor the Rivers’ family spokeswoman, Judy Katz, would confirm or deny the report that Korovin was the doctor performing the biopsy that led to Joan Rivers’ death.

The death of Joan Rivers is currently being investigated by the New York State Health Department and the city medical examiner.

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