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Kanye West's mother dies after 'possible complications' from surgery

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN)
Donda West, mother of hip-hop mogul Kanye West, may have died because of complications from surgery, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said Monday.

An autopsy to be performed Wednesday may make clear the cause of death.

West died Saturday at the age of 58, a representative of her son's record label, Island Def Jam, confirmed, adding that "the family respectfully asks for privacy during this time of grief."

Lt. Fred Corral, watch commander for the Los Angeles County Coroner's office, told CNN the office is investigating West's death due to "possible complications of surgery."

He added that it is not known whether complications arose during or after surgery.

West died Saturday night at 8:29 p.m., Corral said.

Cindy Woelfle, with Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina Del Rey, California, told CNN that paramedics brought Donda West to the emergency room Saturday evening. Attempts were made to revive her, but were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead before 9 p.m. (6 p.m. ET).

Woelfle said West did not have surgery at Centinela.

West's publicist, Patricia Green, told CNN earlier Monday that West died after undergoing a cosmetic surgery procedure, although she said she had no information on the cause of death or whether complications had resulted from the surgery.

Later, however, Green denied saying West had undergone surgery.

Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon Andre Aboolian, however, said through his publicist that Donda West consulted him in June about a procedure. Publicist Jo-Ann Geffen said West contacted Aboolian again two weeks ago to say she was ready to go forward, but Aboolian said he needed a medical clearance before he would perform the surgery.

"I always insist on a medical clearance for women over 40, and in this instance it was particularly important because of a condition she had that I felt could have led to a heart attack," Aboolian said, according to Geffen's statement.

Geffen said she was scheduled to see an internist for the appropriate tests, but never made the appointment.

Donda West was a major influence on her son's life, as the music producer-singer-songwriter has often said -- including in lyrics to some of his songs. She regularly attended her son's concerts, and was at his performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.

Earlier this year, she released a book she co-authored called "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar."

West retired from her post as professor and chair of the English Department at Chicago State University in 2004 to become her son's manager, according to the Kanye West Foundation Web site. She also became CEO of Super Good, the parent company of Kanye West Enterprises.

In Kanye West's song "Can't Tell Me Nothing," a track from his latest album, "Graduation," he rhymes about her attempt to discourage him from spending money on jewelry. On "Touch the Sky," from his 2005 album, "Late Registration," he recalls how his mother drove him from Chicago to New York in a U-Haul van.

Donda West was also the inspiration for the song "Hey Mama."



CNN's Karen Bonsignore, K.J. Matthews and Lola Ogunnaike contributed.
Autopsy planned for Kanye West's mom - CNN.com
Associated Press contributed to this report.