The Los Angeles County coroner launched an investigation Tuesday into the death of rap star Kanye West's mother, who received cosmetic surgery from a prominent Brentwood doctor a day before she died.
The development came the same day the coroner's office completed a preliminary autopsy, which concluded that Donda West, 58, died "as a result of surgery or anesthesia."
Earlier this year, her doctor, Jan Adams, was served with a complaint from the Medical Board of California and state attorney general's office seeking to revoke or suspend his medical license. The officials cited his multiple criminal convictions for alcohol-related offenses since 2003.
Adams has also recorded at least two major medical malpractice settlements totaling nearly half a million dollars and has been sued by several patients in other cases, court records show.
Adams is a high-profile doctor who has appeared on such TV shows as "Oprah" and "Extra" and hosted his own plastic surgery show on the Discovery Health Channel.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there were nearly 11.5 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed in the United States in 2006.
Experts note that even routine procedures can lead to dangerous or fatal complications.
West arrived Friday morning at Adams' Wilshire Boulevard office for the cosmetic surgery. The operation lasted 5 1/2 hours, after which she was sent home, according to the coroner's office.
A day later, paramedics rushed an unconscious West from her home to a Marina del Rey hospital, where she died, said an official with Centinela Freeman HealthSystem.
Coroner's officials said the investigation will include examining medical records, conducting interviews and reviewing West's medical history.
West's family declined to discuss the death, and it was unclear what type of plastic surgery she had. But a Beverly Hills surgeon said through his spokesperson Monday that West had approached him months ago about having cosmetic surgery. He said he never performed the procedure because of an undisclosed preexisting condition that might result in a heart attack.
Adams issued a statement though his spokesman, Kevin Williams, saying he sympathized with the West family but would not discuss details of the case.
