Nov 20, 2007 7:08 am US/Pacific
Donda West's Surgeon Speaks Out
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Kanye West, left, smiles during a signing for his mother Donda's book, "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar" on May 9, 2007, in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci/Getty Images
The mother of rap star Kanye West, who died this month after routine plastic surgery, likely succumbed to a heart attack, pulmonary embolism or accidental overdose of pain medicine, her surgeon said in remarks published Tuesday.
In his most detailed public comments on the case, Dr. Jan Adams told the Los Angeles Times that nothing went wrong Nov. 9 when he performed a breast reduction, tummy tuck and liposuction on 58-year-old Donda West.
"When she left this office, there was no problem whatsoever," Adams said during the interview at his Wilshire Boulevard medical office.
Adams told The Times there was a "small list of possibilities" that could have resulted in West's death.
Adams would not say why he thought West could have suffered a heart attack, The Times reported. Another surgeon said through a spokesperson last week that West had approached him months ago about having cosmetic surgery, but that he did not perform the procedure because of an undisclosed preexisting condition that might result in a heart attack.
Adams told The Times he considered a drug overdose a possibility in West's death because he had prescribed Vicodin to fight the pain resulting from her surgery.
He told the newspaper that West probably had "a rough night" after the operation. Asked whether he thought she may have taken too many painkillers, Adams replied: "That's one speculation on my part, yes."
The Los Angeles County coroner's office, which completed a preliminary autopsy report on West last week, has not mentioned drugs as playing a role in her death. The office's initial review found that West died "as a result of surgery or anesthesia." It has opened an investigation into the death.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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