World-Renowned Anesthesiologists Debate Over Cause of Michael Jackson's Death

The two anesthesiologists who will debate over the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson this week have been colleagues and friends for close to 30 years, according to a CNN Blog report.

Steven Shafer, MD, world-renowned anesthesiologist and pharmacologist, will match up against colleague Paul White, MD, over what really happened to Mr. Jackson. The anesthesiologists first met in 1981 and have been colleagues and friends ever since. They work on an anesthesiology publication together and both received awards at the conference for the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Chicago last weekend.

The most significant issue the physicians are expected to disagree on is how the lethal dose of propofol entered Mr. Jackson's body. Dr. White will likely testify that the propofol entered Mr. Jackson's body through self-injection. Dr. Shafter is expected to testify that the levels of propofol could only be achieved if the singer had been administered a constant drip.

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