Lisa Marie Presley, the songwriter and only child of Elvis Presley, died in January as a result of a “small bowel obstruction” caused by scar tissue that formed after bariatric surgery years ago, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office said Thursday. .
Ms. Presley complained on Jan. 12 of severe abdominal pain, according to an autopsy report released Thursday by the medical examiner’s office. Later that day, she was found unresponsive at her home in Calabasas, California, by her ex-husband, who was not named in the report.
Mrs. Presley, 54, was taken by paramedics to a hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest and died that afternoon.
The report stated that although Ms. Presley had a prior history of drug use, she had been sober “for the past several years.” However, health problems appeared to have occurred after her bariatric surgery, which is generally considered a treatment option for people with a high body mass index who have failed to lose weight through diet and exercise alone.
Juan M. Carrillo, a Los Angeles County superintendent, described Ms. Presley’s health problems after the bariatric surgery as “a known long-term complication of this type of surgery.”
Ms. Presley was prescribed opiates after her surgery and after an infection, the report stated. She was then prescribed another type of medication so she could be taken off the opiates.
The report noted that Ms. Presley had “a history of overmedication; she has been known to forget that she has taken her medications and will take them again.”
The autopsy report said toxicology results showed “therapeutic levels of oxycodone” in her blood. Buprenorphine, a medication to treat opioid addiction, was also present but did not contribute to her death, the report stated.
For months, she complained of abdominal pain, fevers, vomiting and nausea but did not seek medical attention, according to the report.
The office of the Los Angeles County Coroner initially delayed a verdict on the case of Ms. Presley. For months, officials said a medical examination had been performed, but that a pathologist was waiting for additional test results — including, possibly, a toxicology report — before releasing an official cause of death.
Two days before Ms. Presley’s death, she attended the Golden Globe Awards, where “Elvis,” a biopic about her father’s life, was nominated for multiple awards. Some of her on-camera interviews on the red carpet prompted concern from fans and others who said she appeared unsteady.
Mrs. Presley was buried at Graceland, where a memorial was held in late January.
Weeks later, Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie’s mother, who has long helped manage Elvis’ estate, went to court to challenge the validity of documents that say Lisa Marie’s daughter, the actress Riley Keough, is now the sole guardian.
The New York Times reported that although the Elvis brand today continues to rake in more than $100 million a year as a licensing juggernaut, the family trust receives only a fraction of its earnings.
In June, Ms. Keough agreed to provide Priscilla Presley, her grandmother and Elvis Presley’s former wife, with a lump sum payment as part of a settlement that would resolve a dispute over control of the family trust, according to court documents.
Lawyers for the parties sought to keep details of their agreement confidential, but the papers listed what appears to be a $1 million payment.
On Wednesday, Ms. Keough was nominated for an Emmy for best actress in a limited series or television movie for her titular role as the wild child in “Daisy Jones & the Six,” an Amazon miniseries about the rise and fall of a fictional 1970s group.