The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday that Lisa Marie Presley, singer-songwriter and Elvis Presley’s only child, died in January of a “small bowel obstruction” caused by scar tissue that developed after bariatric surgery years ago. .
Ms. Pressley was complaining on January 12 of severe abdominal pain, according to an autopsy report released Thursday by the medical examiner’s office. Later that day, her ex-husband, who was not named in the report, found her unresponsive at her home in Calabasas, California.
Paramedics took Ms. Presley, 54, to hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest and died that afternoon.
The report stated that although Ms Presley had a previous history of substance abuse, she had been sober “for the past few years”. However, health issues appear to have occurred after her bariatric surgery, which is generally considered a treatment option for people with a high BMI who have failed to lose weight with only diet and exercise.
Los Angeles County Deputy Medical Examiner Juan M. Carrillo called Ms. Presley’s health problems after bariatric surgery “a known long-term complication of this type of surgery.”
The report stated that Ms Pressley was prescribed opioids after surgery and after the injury. Then she was prescribed another type of medication so she could be taken off opioids.
The report noted that Ms Pressley had a “history of over-medication; she was known to forget she had taken her medication and would take it again”.
The autopsy report stated that toxicology results showed “therapeutic levels of oxycodone” in her blood. The report stated that buprenorphine, a drug to treat opioid addiction, was also present but did not contribute to her death.
For months, she complained of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and nausea but did not seek medical attention, according to the report.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office initially delayed processing Ms. Presley’s case. For months, officials have said a medical examination has been carried out, but the pathologist is waiting for more test results — including, likely, a toxicology report — before an official cause of death is revealed.
Two days before Mrs. Presley died, she attended the Golden Globe Awards, where “Elvis,” a biopic on her father’s life, was nominated for multiple awards. Some of her on-camera interviews on the red carpet raised concern Fans and others Who said she looked unstable.
Mrs. Presley was buried in Graceland, where a memorial was held in late January.
Weeks later, Priscilla Presley, the mother of Lisa Marie, who had long helped manage Elvis’ estate, went to court to challenge the authenticity of documents saying that Lisa Marie’s daughter, actress Riley Keough, is now the sole guardian.
The New York Times reports that although today the Elvis brand continues to make more than $100 million a year in licensing power, the family fund receives only a fraction of its proceeds.
In June, Ms. Keough agreed to provide Priscilla Presley, her grandmother and Elvis Presley’s ex-wife a one-time payment as part of a settlement that would resolve a dispute over control of the family trust, according to court documents.
Attorneys for both parties sought to keep the details of their agreement confidential, but the papers mentioned what appeared to be a $1 million payment.
On Wednesday, Ms. Keough was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for her titular role as a wild child in “Daisy Jones & the Six,” an Amazon miniseries about the ups and downs of a fictional band from the ’70s.