Cause of Death For Donda West Unclear
January 10, 2008

The cause of death for the mother of Kanye West, Donda West is still unclear, months after her controversial passing in a plastic surgeon's office and even after a coroner's inquest. According to Reuters, the Los Angeles County Coroner revealed today that the exact cause of Donda West in November was still unclear but that there was no sign of "surgical or anesthetic misadventure." The office of the coroner in LA attributed the death of Donda West to nothing related directly to the cosmetic surgery that garnered so many headlines, saying that she died from coronary artery disease. Reuters does report that factors related to her cosmetic surgery the day before she died may have contributed but it sounds like it may not have been directly responsible.

Donda West, the mother of Kanye West, was 58 when she died. She was a former university professor and actually managed the business and educational foundation of the award-winning rapper behind College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation. Dr. Jan Adams took a ton of heat after Donda West died. The media went after the doctor because a preliminary report claimed that Donda dies from possible complications from surgery.

The statement today revealed that the coroner's office attributed the death to coronary artery disease combined with multiple operative factors. It sounds like the doctor may not have done anything wrong and that it was Donda's heart disease combined with the strain of cosmetic surgery on the heart that did her in. They did say, however, "the final manner of death could not be determined. Multiple post-operative factors could have played a role in the death. The exact contribution of each factor could not be determined. There was no evidence of surgical or anesthetic misadventure."

Donda West raised Kanye in a middle-class Chicago suburb and managed her son's business after she retired from teaching English at Chicago State University in 2004. Dr. Jan Adams hosted his own plastic surgery show on the Discovery Health channel and has appeared on a number of talk shows both before and after the death of Donda West. Adams said today on Extra, "What came out of the autopsy released today was exactly what I thought was going to be reported."

For more music news, check out our stories on Hannah Montana, Amy Winehouse, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.