Donda West death may be surgery-related
Jeremiah Marquez

LOS ANGELES—An autopsy was scheduled for the mother of Kanye West after preliminary information suggested she died of surgical complications, a coroner’s investigator said Monday.
What kind of surgery Donda West, who was often seen at the musician’s side, had was not immediately clear. West had approached a plastic surgeon months ago about a procedure, but he never performed it because she did not return with a medical clearance for a condition that concerned him, the surgeon’s publicist said Monday.
West died Saturday night at age 58 at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Centre in Marina del Rey, where paramedics took her after she stopped breathing at her home, according to Deborah Ettinger, a hospital vice president.
“We tried to resuscitate her, but were unsuccessful,” Ettinger said, adding that she did not have surgery at the hospital.
Preliminary information indicated she died from “complications of surgery,” Lt. Fred Corral told The Associated Press. An autopsy was expected to be conducted by Wednesday, Corral said.
“Kanye West, his family and friends would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and kind words that have come in from across the country since the death of his mother,” publicist Maureen O’Connor said in a statement. Reached by phone, she declined to provide details on West’s death.
Patricia Green, a consultant who has worked as a publicist for West in the past, had previously told news agencies that West died after cosmetic surgery. She backed away from those comments in later interviews with the AP, saying she was not sure of the cause because she had received conflicting information.
West met with Dr. Andre Aboolian of Beverly Hills in June to inquire about cosmetic surgery, said the surgeon’s publicist, Jo-Ann Geffen. Aboolian told West two weeks ago that she needed to get a medical clearance before he would agree to do the surgery, but never heard back from her, Geffen said.
Aboolian was concerned about a condition West had that may cause a heart attack during surgery, said Geffen, declining to elaborate because of patient privacy rights.