Last Thursday, October 16, The New York City Medical Examiner's Office had concluded that the late comedian Joan Rivers, had died due to surgery complications. The autopsy report was released to The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the statement from spokeswoman Julie Bolcer, "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."
In short, the comedian passed away from low blood oxygen to the brain during the endoscopy procedure.
Rivers, at the age of 81, passed away last September 4, after being confined at the hospital following a minor throat procedure at Yorkville Endoscopy in New York City on August 28. Joan's friends said that the surgery was a "diagnostic procedure [to] see why her voice had gotten raspy," which was reported the week after her death on the New York Daily News. According to the news, Rivers had agreed to the endoscopy, however, not to an unplanned throat biopsy, during which she just stopped breathing.
Joan Rivers was known as a co-host to the E! celebrity fashion show Fashion Police from 2010-2014. She also starred starred in reality series called Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? With her daughter from 2011 to 2014.
After the procedure, the comedian was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital and was immediately put into a medically-induced coma.
The late Rivers' funeral was held on September 7 at Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was a star-studded funeral which was attended by celebrities like Kelly osbourne, Howard Stern, High Jackman, Andy Cohen, Sarah Jessica Parker and many more.
