The results of Joan Rivers autopsy reveals what caused the legendary comedian’s unexpected death last month. The information was released on Wednesday by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office.
Following the sad death of Joan Rivers on September 4, her autopsy report indicates that she died from complications from throat surgery. The Medical Examiner’s Office says the 81-year-old television host died of “anoxic encephalopathy due to hypoxic arrest during laryngoscopy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with propofol sedation for evaluation of voice changes and gastroesophageal reflux disease.”
The report indicates that Rivers’ manner of death is therapeutic complication. In its conclusion, the autopsy states that Rivers was sedated with propofol prior to her death of low blood oxygen during a procedure to treat voice changes and acid reflux.
This classification suggests that Joan Rivers died from a predictable complication of medical therapy. Following the botched procedure at Yorkville Endoscopy on August 28, the comedian was left in a coma and died a week later at Upper East Side clinic. She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, were she was put on life support.
Propofol is a drug that is used to help patients relax before surgery, and it slows brain and nervous system activity, according to Drugs.com . Coincidentally, this is the same drug that was present in Michael Jackson’s system after his death, another high profile celebrity tragic case.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , prior to the autopsy results becoming public, Joan Rivers’ family was planning on suing the medical facility where the procedure was performed for $100 million. According to the report, there was an unauthorized biopsy performed on the late star.
A source alleged that one of Rivers’ doctors asked to perform the biopsy, and the clinic allowed him to use their instruments, which is not a common practice in the medical field. The claim is that the clinic was not equipped to handle such biopsy.
“A biopsy like that should only be done in a hospital setting,” the source added. “If she had been in a hospital when it happened, she might have been okay.”
The New York State Department of Health announced a review of Yorkville Endoscopy — which incidentally has several celebrities as part of their clientele — and the New York City police department was conducting a criminal investigation into Joan Rivers’ death .
[Image via Dan Holm / Shutterstock.com ]
