<p>At work the other day at the endoscopy center where I work, I asked one of the anesthetists what he thought had happened. He said that while endoscopies looking at the esophagus and stomach are routine procedures and done with confidence on healthy people like Joan in our facility and others like it across the country, procedures done on vocal cords are not. He said that a severe laryngospasm makes it almost impossible to get an airway in, and your only recourse is to do an emergency tracheotomy. He said they likely didn’t have the proper setting for an emergency tracheotomy. </p>
<p>He went on to say that’s why our center never does any work whatsoever on vocal cords, for that very reason. He said he would never agree to be the anesthetist on a vocal cord procedure at any setting other than a hospital with quick access to the OR.</p>
<p>Of course, none of that means that Joan’s center wasn’t equipped to do the procedure, as each ambulatory surgery center is its own entity, but…</p>
<p>I think there’s a big difference between doing a biopsy on someone who is having an endoscopy and getting a tissue sample from the esophagus and/or stomach, and someone who is having an endoscopy and they find something on the vocal cords. I’ve had several endoscopies since I have pretty bad GERD - I can’t imagine my GI doctor agreeing to anyone taking tissue from my vocal cords (much higher risk of laryngospasm doing this kind of biopsy) while in the outpatient clinic I have my endoscopies done at. FWIW… according to the articles, she was having the endoscopy because her voice had become more raspy. That’s a common symptom of someone with bad GERD. </p>
<p>I think some $*(&%)# is going to fly with this case.</p>
<p>I agree, teriwtt. I am not at all a litigious person but I would be hopping mad if what is being reported happened with a loved one of mine. Joan Rivers was a very vibrant 81 year old with the potential for a lot more years of a good life ahead of her, with good family and friends who adored her.</p>
<p>That is curious and it suggests that the clinic staff deferred to the celebrity patient’s personal physician. I figured they suspected vocal nodes. But, who knows? </p>
<p>If it turns out that JR died because of medical malpractice, it will be very hard on her family and friends. She certainly seemed physically robust - the schedule she maintained proved it. And mentally, she did not show any signs of deterioration. Unless she had a bad cancer or another terminal condition, she should have had some good years ahead.</p>
<p>The story about her bringing her own doctor as part of her “entourage” is bizarre. </p>
<p>I wonder if this doctor had a signed consent form allowing him to do a biopsy. If not, bad for him. The endoscopy staff would probably still share in the culpability, I imagine. Of course, without the medical record, this is all still speculation, regardless of what “officials” are saying. And why are these “officials” talking, when this is a HIPAA violation?</p>
<p>This is all very sad, but hopefully some good can come out of this. When something tragic happens to someone who is famous and loved, it can bring out some needed changes that have long been ignored.</p>
<p>But…still very sad about this and very sad for Melissa and her son. </p>
<p>Since they’re on the verge of annihilation if they are found to be at fault, who knows if they will tell the truth. They probably have already seen a huge drop in patients.</p>
<p>The verge of annihilation?? Thats a bit strong. They have gotten bad press, and sure probably have seen a drop in patients, but surely have sufficient med mal insurance to cover any potential litigation. Don’t think this will cause them to close their doors.</p>
<p>ETA - sometimes after an adverse incident a clinic like that will be a safer place to have a procedure due to increased safety concerns and procedures.</p>
<p>I saw the denial statement, but its doesn’t jibe with the reported information. We have the “journalist” problem as usual, (altering facts to fit a narrative), but in this case there’s no narrative to fit, and even journalists aren’t able to speculate about the types of “facts” that were reported in those stories.</p>
<p>There are several statements in the news from multiple sources (I think) that emphasize that vocal cords are a different matter from regular throat/stomach endoscopy. Since the ostensible reason for the investigation in the first place was her voice, I have to wonder what she was doing at the place where she was.</p>
<p>Agree, dadx- why didn’t she go to a hospital for this procedure? Was she concerned about publicity? She never shied away for being anything but very open about medical procedures. And surely they discussed the procedure and what would happen if they saw a polyp, all prior to signing the consent.</p>
<p>And agreed, this isn’t exactly a feather in the clinic’s cap, but its not likely the “verge of annihilation” either.</p>
<p>dadx, because GERD is often the cause of problems with a raspy voice, it’s perfectly plausible that they were doing an endoscopy to check and see what kind of damage GERD could have caused in her esophagus and stomach.</p>
<p>Without the medical record, we can’t know what really happened. Anything else we hear from “sources” and “officials” has to be taken with a grain of salt, as often those kinds of statements are pretty self-serving or are made in absence of many of the relevant facts.</p>
<p>Well, it is starting to sound like whatever happened her personal physician did it and it’s not all that likely that she didn’t sign off on whatever procedure was performed. This is not a woman who was afraid of going under the knife. Maybe she just had a heart attack and died. Every time someone dies it’s not necessarily a malpractice case, either.</p>