Lisa Marie Presley – the only child of rock ‘n’ roll legend Elvis – died of complications from a weight loss surgery she had several years ago, a post-mortem examination revealed.
The singer died at her home in Calabasas, California, in January this year, at the age of 54, after reportedly suffering a cardiac arrest.
However, post-mortem results released by Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner on Thursday ruled her death as being from natural causes due to effects of a small bowel obstruction.
It said the complication was the result of bariatric surgery – a weight loss procedure – from several years ago.
“The obstruction was in the form of a strangulated small bowel caused by adhesions that developed after bariatric surgery years ago,” the examiner said in a report.
“This is a known long-term complication of this type of surgery.”
Ms Presley – who was last seen in public at the Golden Globes two days before her death – had complained of stomach pain earlier in the day, according to the report.
A photo of a young Lisa Marie Presley with her parents, Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, in a bouquet of flowers at her memorial service. Pic: AP
However, there were no further indications of what may have caused the medical issue.
What is bariatric surgery?
In the UK, bariatric surgery, also known called metabolic surgery, can be used as a treatment for people who are very obese – usually those above a body mass index (BMI) of 40.
The surgery can include the use of a gastric band, a gastric bypass or a sleeve gastrectomy.
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However, according to the NHS, it should only be tried if all other weight loss methods, such as dieting and exercise, have not worked, or if the person has a serious condition that may improve as a result of weight loss.
The Mayo Clinic, a not-for-profit medical research centre based in the US, also says the procedure is used when other weight loss methods have not worked.
The only child of ‘The King’
Ms Presley was the sole heir of music legend Elvis, and his wife Priscilla Presley.
Elvis with wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie in 1968
She followed in her father’s footsteps by pursuing a music career, starting in 2003 with her debut album: To Whom It May Concern.
It charted in the top 10 on the US Billboard album chart, as did follow-up record Now What in 2005.
She had four marriages, the first to singer Michael Jackson, and the third to actor Nicolas Cage.
Following her death, she was buried during a funeral at Graceland, the home where she lived with her father as a child that has become a museum, tourist attraction and shrine for Elvis fans.
Presley left behind three daughters, 34-year-old “Daisy Jones & the Six” actor Riley Keough, with her second husband Danny Keough, and 15-year-old twins Harper and Finley Lockwood, with her fourth husband, guitarist and producer Michael Lockwood.
Lisa Marie Presley’s first marriage was to Michael Jackson
Lisa Marie Presley with Nicolas Cage
Lisa Marie Presley and daughter Riley Keough. Pic: @rileykeough
Her eldest son, Benjamin Keough, died in 2020.
Legal fight over estate
In the immediate aftermath of her death, it appeared that a major legal fight would ensue over Presley’s estate.
Four days after her funeral, her mother, Priscilla, 78, filed court documents disputing a 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie Presley’s living trust that removed her and a former business manager as trustees and replaced them with her two eldest children.
But Priscilla and Riley Keough – acting as the sole trustee of her estate – agreed to a settlement in May.