Doctor 'took selfie' during Joan Rivers operation

The doctor who performed an operation on Joan Rivers' vocal cords took a selfie in the operating theatre when the comedian was under anaesthesia, CNN has reported.

Rivers, 81, was having a procedure on August 29 to diagnose her hoarse voice and sore throat but her personal ear-nose-throat doctor decided to pursue a biopsy.

A source told CNN that after the agreed-to procedure from Yorkville Endoscopy Clinic's medical director Lawrence Cohen, her own physician stepped in for the unauthorised biopsy.

The physician was not certified by the clinic itself in violation of New York law.

Rivers went into cardiac arrest during the biopsy, which had not been agreed to beforehand.

She died a week later at the nearby Mount Sinai Hospital.

The clinic denied Dr Cohen was currently performing procedures or was serving as medical director.

The clinic also refused to respond to allegations of the selfie or the unauthorised biopsy, citing federal privacy law.