A New York City medical examiner has determined late comedienne Joan Rivers died of hypoxic arrest during surgery.
The “Fashion Police” host passed away at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital last month, after suffering cardiac and respiratory arrest during a routine throat operation at a nearby clinic.
An autopsy was performed in September, but the results were inconclusive.
On Thursday October 16th, medical officials released their findings, and revealed oxygen to Rivers’ brain was cut off during the procedure.
A spokesperson for the medical examiner has released a statement, which reads: “OCME (Office of the Chief Medical Examiner) has completed its investigation. The cause of Ms. Rivers’ death is 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 manner of death is therapeutic complication. The classification of a death as a therapeutic complication means that the death resulted from a predictable complication of medical therapy.”
Rivers’ daughter Melissa tells The Hollywood Reporter, “We continue to be saddened by our tragic loss and grateful for the enormous outpouring of love and support from around the world. We have no further comment at this time.”
