Posted Jan. 23, 2008 – Hoping to clear his name, the doctor who performed the plastic surgery that preceded the death of Kanye West’s mother sat down with CNN’s Larry King Tuesday night to discuss the fallout.
Dr. Jan Adams performed a breast reduction, tummy tuck and liposuction procedures just one day before Donda West died.
The autopsy report was inconclusive about West's cause of death, but medical examiners believe the 58-year-old college professor and author died of heart disease triggered by multiple post-operative complications.
Adams said previously that he believed West likely died of a heart attack or other non-surgery-related health problems. Last night on “Larry King Live,” King asked Adams if the autopsy report cleared things up in his mind.
"As far as I'm concerned, the autopsy, at least the autopsy report suggests nothing went on during surgery; nothing went on during recovery. OK, she's now gone home. We need to look at that period, and I think that's what's open."
Adams told King that the bad publicity following the death of Donda West had affected his practice "horribly ... it's almost destroyed." However, Adams told King that, despite the bad press, he plans to continue performing surgeries.
Adams was on “Larry King Live” once before in November 2007, but he walked off the show's set without answering any questions.
Adams told King he had come to the November show to talk about inaccuracies about him in the press, but the West family asked him not to go on. He agreed to hold up on TV appearances until the West family was comfortable with it.
"If they're never comfortable, then I'll never be comfortable. They are what's important to me," he said at the time.