Kanye's Mom's Surgeon Defends Himself On Larry King

LOS ANGELES — The plastic surgeon who operated on Kanye West's mother before she died said his practice has been hard hit by bad publicity following her death.

Dr. Jan Adams told CNN's "Larry King Live" on Tuesday that fallout from Donda West's death had affected his practice "horribly ... it's almost destroyed."

Adams told King that as a television personality he was a target for bad press and lawsuits, but said he planned to continue performing surgeries.

He hosted the series "Plastic Surgery: Before and After" for five years until June. He has also appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Entertainment Tonight," sells a line of skin care products and has written two books on plastic surgery.

West, 58, died at a Los Angeles-area hospital Nov. 10, a day after she underwent breast reduction, tummy tuck and liposuction procedures.

A coroner's autopsy report found that West most likely died of heart disease coupled with complications after plastic surgery, but also said the exact cause of death couldn't be known.

"The autopsy said what I expected," said Adams, who declined to discuss specifics of West's case, citing patient-doctor privilege.

He had previously said he believed West likely died of a heart attack or other non-surgery related health problems.

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In November, Adams abruptly walked off King's show, saying West's family asked him not to appear.

He said Tuesday he had been in contact with the family's lawyers but not Kanye West. He did not elaborate.

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On the Net:

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Comments

[Wanjiru]

I wonder why Larry King is still employed by CNN--talk about a dead man walking...

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[rini]

Of course he was on Larry "No real questions" King. He didn't want any questions regarding the standard of care, his lack of board certification and his previous lawsuits, which were far from the norm for any physician.

She was discharged the same day after an eight hour surgery. She did not have an adequate pre-op workup. Of course she had a heart attack. This is a known complication of extensive surgery in someone with preexisting coronary disease, which was never checked for pre or post op.