NEW YORK — The New York City medical examiner says Joan Rivers died from low blood oxygen during a medical procedure.
The comedian, who was 81, died Sept. 4. She had been hospitalized since Aug. 28 when she went into cardiac arrest during a routine medical procedure at a doctor’s office to check out voice changes and reflux.
Medical examiner spokeswoman Julie Bolcer said Thursday that the cause was brain damage due to lack of oxygen. It is classified as a therapeutic complication, meaning that the death resulted from a predictable complication of surgery.
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The New York state health department is investigating the circumstances.
Rivers had been rushed to Mount Sinai Medical Center Aug. 29 after she stopped breathing during throat surgery at a clinic.
A 911 call said a patient at Yorkville Endoscopy on East 93rd Street was “in either cardiac or respiratory arrest.”
After about a week in intensive care, Rivers was moved to a private room so she could be “kept comfortable.” She died the following day.
Her daughter Melissa Rivers says in a statement that the family continued to be saddened by the tragic loss.
– with files by Global News
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