Donda West may have may have overdosed on painkillers, claims surgeon

Kanye West's mother may have overdosed on painkillers claims the plastic surgeon that operated on her the day before she died.

Dr Jan Adams made his sensational claim in his first candid interview since the celebrity mum's death.

He told The LA Times he gave West Vicodin tablets to ease her pain following her November 9 breast reduction and tummy tuck.

Adams claims his patient: "probably [had] a rough night" after the operation. He says the 58-year-old complained of pain the next morning and alleges she may have taken too much Vicodin - a highly addictive prescription drug.

Dr Adams says: "That's one speculation on my part, yes."

But, in another stunning admission, he says he knows why West died although he refuses to disclose it until the coroner's office completes its investigation.

He says: "I believe I know exactly what happened to her, but I will not comment on it until I see the final report."

The LA-based plastic surgeon, who has a slew of malpractice lawsuits against him, also claims West was fine when she went home after the operation.

"When she left this office," he says. "There was no problem whatsoever."

He says that - based on his years of experience that, in addition to his undisclosed theory - there was a "small list of possibilities" that may explain her death. They include a heart attack, a pulmonary embolism and the afore-mentioned overdose.

Before Donda West's death, Dr Adams had a high-profile career as plastic surgeon. An author, he also had his own plastic surgery show on the Discovery Health channel and had been interviewed on TV by Oprah Winfrey.

A graduate of Ohio State University College of Medicine, he has practiced medicine in California since 1992. The day before giving his first exclusive TV interview to CNN's Larry King Dr Adams went on the media offensive to defend his reputation.

Lurking in his background is a sea of lawsuits and claims of alcoholism levelled at the celebrity doctor. When Donda West went under Adams' knife the Medical Board of California was seeking to suspend or revoke the doctor's license because of a series of alcohol-related arrests.

He also has two malpractice judgements against him totalling nearly $500,000 [around £250,000].

Other patients have sued him - claims which he slaps down as "nuisance suits" by disgruntled people seeking money.

Dr Adams says: "Yes there have been some malpractice suits. But 99 per cent of them are what we in this business call nuisance suits."

Many of these, the surgeon told The LA Times, were the result of patients being unhappy about the way a scar healed - even though he told them ahead of time how it may look.

People who refused to pay extra money to have additional work done were also quick to file lawsuits, he claims.

Dr Adams says: "There's a level of selfishness that exists, and we as a system are telling people it's OK to think of yourself as a victim.

"And the real answer is they're not victims. And there's nothing going on here that represents malpractice.

"When you look at the suits critically, what you find is those people who sue are those people who couldn't afford it in the first place.

"And so they're trying to recoup their money and they're looking for anything wrong."

Adams' claims are in direct contrast to former patient Bonita Hovey, 62, of Sacramento, California, who alleges he left her with an 18-inch infected gaping wound after an alleged botched tummy tuck.

The surgeon also has a list of alcohol-related arrests, including a 1994 drunk driving case that he admits to being guilty of.

However, he says the other two cases - in 2003 and 2006 - are not what they seem. Both are the subjects of the medical board's complaint.

Adams says that in 2003 he was pulled to the side of the road and asked to take a sobriety test. He refused.

At the police station he took a Breathalyzer test several times but refused to have a blood test.

He was charged with refusing to take the test and, upon the advice of his attorney, pleaded no contest. Adams says that in hindsight: "That was a mistake."

In 2006 the surgeon was arrested again - this time on the Santa Monica Freeway - and was charged with drunk driving.

Despite claiming he only had one beer and another drink to toast a friend that evening he was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.09 per cent and 0.10 per cent on two Breathalyzer tests.

Again Dr Adams is quick to defend himself, saying: "As far as I was concerned, I certainly didn't drink enough to be 0.08 [the blood alcohol limit in California]."

He was later aquitted of drunk driving but convicted of driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 per cent or above.

Adams says he later checked into a treatment centre to check if he was an alcoholic.

"The conclusion after two days - and $5,000 [£2,500] - was this guy is not alcohol dependent," he says.

The surgeon also has a record of financial woes. He owes $100,000 [around £50,000] in back taxes and $50,000 [£25,000] in unpaid civil judgements.

A former patient says he owes her more than $200,000 [£100,0000] on a past judgement in her favour.

Dr Adams accepts that he has let his malpractice insurance lapse because of his failure to pay premiums on time.

He says: "I think at a certain level it's a fallacy that these doctors are making all that money.

"Certainly you can make easily, say, $50,000 [£25,000] a month.

"But when you put in overhead and insurance and all these kinds of things it costs to be a doctor, your take-home is starting to shrink considerably."

Dr Adams refused to say how much money he has made but claimed he did not consider his earnings enough to make a comfortable living.

However, The LA Times reporter claimed that he left the interview in a black Cadillac Escalade. Adams did admit, however, that the negative publicity he has received since West's death has affected his business.

His claims his next 10 or 12 patients have cancelled their procedures. Undeterred, he says: "You take the good with the bad.