Lisa Marie Presley, the singer-songwriter and Elvis Presley’s only child, died in January of complications from a “small bowel obstruction” caused by scar tissue developed after bariatric surgery years earlier, the Los Angeles County Medical Bureau said Examiner on Thursday with .
On Jan. 12, Ms. Presley had complained of severe abdominal pain, according to an autopsy report released Thursday by the coroner. Later that day, she was found dead at her home in Calabasas, California by her ex-husband, who was not named in the report.
Ms Presley, 54, was taken to hospital by paramedics where she suffered cardiac arrest and died in the afternoon.
The report said that while Ms. Presley had a history of using drugs, she had been sober “over the last few years.” However, health problems appeared to have emerged following her bariatric surgery, which is widely considered a treatment option for people with a high body mass index who have failed to lose weight with diet and exercise alone.
Juan M. Carrillo, assistant Los Angeles County coroner, described Ms. Presley’s health problems after bariatric surgery as a “known long-term complication of this type of surgery.”
Ms Presley was prescribed opiates after her surgery and after becoming infected, the report said. She was then prescribed another drug to get rid of the opiates.
The report noted that Ms. Presley “had a history of overmedication; She was known to forget that she had taken her medication and would take it again.”
The autopsy report said the toxicology results showed “therapeutic levels of oxycodone” in her blood. Buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, was also present but did not contribute to her death, the report said.
According to the report, she complained of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and nausea for months, but did not see a doctor.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office had initially deferred a decision on Ms. Presley’s case. For months, officials said a medical evaluation had been conducted but a pathologist was awaiting further test results – possibly including a toxicology report – before announcing an official cause of death.
Two days before Ms. Presley’s death, she attended the Golden Globe Awards where “Elvis,” a biography about her father’s life, was nominated for multiple awards. Some of her on-camera red carpet interviews sparked concern from fans and others, who said she seemed insecure.
Ms. Presley was buried at Graceland, where a memorial service was held in late January.
Weeks later, Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie’s mother, who had long helped manage Elvis’s estate, went to court to challenge the validity of documents showing that Lisa Marie’s daughter, actress Riley Keough, was now sole proprietor trustee is.
The New York Times reported that while the Elvis brand still rakes in more than $100 million a year as a licensing giant, the family fund receives only a fraction of its proceeds.
In June, Ms Keough agreed to pay Priscilla Presley, her grandmother and former wife of Elvis Presley, a lump sum payment as part of a settlement that would settle a dispute over control of the family fund, court documents show.
The parties’ lawyers had attempted to keep details of their agreement confidential, but the papers listed a payment of what appeared to be $1 million.
On Wednesday, Ms. Keough was nominated for an Emmy for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie for her title role as a feral child in “Daisy Jones & the Six,” an Amazon miniseries about the rise and fall of a fictional 1970s- Tape.