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in General Factchecking by Novice (860 points)
Is the claim that Lisa Marie Presley " died from a small bowel obstruction, which was a complication of going under the knife for weight loss surgery years earlier" supported by evidence? What are the specific risk of having a surgery like this, and what are the death or complication rates from it?

12 Answers

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by Apprentice (1.5k points)
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Lisa Marie Presley received bariatric surgery, which is surgery on the stomach or intestines to promote weight loss. She had a bowel obstruction due to scar tissue from the surgery, leading to her death. The autopsy did not specify what type of bariatric surgery she had, but scar tissue is a known long-term condition for the surgery. However, these surgeries are known to be as routine as gallbladder surgeries. And according to the medical examiner, Presley complained about abdominal pain the morning of her death.

Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/entertainment/lisa-marie-presley-cause-of-death/index.html

https://abc7chicago.com/lisa-marie-presley-cause-of-death-bariatric-surgery-bowel-obstruction-weight-loss/13515292/#:~:text=LOS%20ANGELES%20%2D%2D%20Lisa%20Marie,after%20having%20weight%2Dloss%20surgery.

Likely not misinformation
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by Novice (580 points)
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I agree. I liked how you used multiple sources to verify this claim.
by Apprentice (1.5k points)
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Thank you for the clear and concise answer with multiple evidence sources!
by Journeyman (3.0k points)
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This was a nice, clear, and concise fact-check. It helped clear up any misconceptions and had credible sources to back it up.
by Journeyman (2.8k points)
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Love the details and the added sources to support your statement. Gives readers a clear explanation and its precise and short and straight to the point.
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by Apprentice (1.1k points)

Lisa Marie Presley was ruled diseased due to a small bowel obstruction. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner gave additional details in their autopsy report. There is an article titled "Cause and Manner of Death Determined for Lisa Marie Beaulieu Presley" where it describes the result of the tests. It says, " The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for 54-year-old singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley as a small bowel obstruction caused by scar tissue that developed after a previous bariatric surgery years ago. The manner of death is natural."

https://mec.lacounty.gov/2023/press-releases/cause-and-manner-of-death-determined-for-lisa-marie-beaulieu-presley/

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3 like 0 dislike
by Novice (740 points)
This is true. While Lisa Marie Presley didn't die immediately after receiving her bariatric weight loss surgery. She ended up having a bowel onstruction years after she actually underwent the weight loss surgery. Her surgery ended up creating scar tissue in her small bowel. When this became obstructed, she went into cardiac arrest due to the obstcruction. The medical examiner reviewing the case explained that, "This is a known long term complication of this surgery."

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66195853

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4370037/
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by Apprentice (1.0k points)
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I really enjoyed how you stated it did not happen immediately. Many headlines can mislead readers into thinking it happened right after
by Journeyman (2.8k points)
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Nice and straightforward with the evidence given from the sources. That the surgery itself had many complications and the way the medical examiner even said that it was a long term complication.
by Apprentice (1.5k points)
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This is a great factcheck because you acknowledged that this occurred years after the surgery. Great work!
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by Novice (670 points)
This claim is true

Lisa Marie Presley passed this January from complications brought from a bariatric surgery performed years ago. According to Mayo Clinic, Bariatric surgery makes changes to the digestive system to help individuals lose weight. Specifically, modifying the small intestine or stomach to reduce how much food the stomach can hold. Presley's bowel obstruction was caused by buildups of scar tissue which caused her organ tissues to stick together.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/lisa-marie-presley-death-rare-risk-bariatric-surgery-rcna94373

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bariatric-surgery/about/pac-20394258
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by Apprentice (1.0k points)
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I enjoyed how you stated where the surgery was preformed and how this caused her to die.
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by Newbie (440 points)

Yes, it is true. According to the article, Lisa Marie Presley's death was attributed to complications from a small bowel obstruction caused by scarring from bariatric surgery. Obstructions can be treated if caught early but may lead to severe complications if untreated. 

https://www.everydayhealth.com/obesity/lisa-marie-presley-died-from-complications-years-after-weight-loss-surgery/

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by Apprentice (1.2k points)
Lisa Marie Presley passed away due to the small bowel obstructions. Small bowel obstructions can be caused by a few different sources such as scar tissues, cancer, or hernias to name a few. These blockages or obstructions cause the bowel tissue to die, which then leads to more serious issues including death. In Lisa Marie Presley's case, the medical examiner Dr. Juan M. Carrillo, said that it was due to scar tissue blockage. The scar tissue came from her previous surgery for weight loss. Every surgery has its risks and the patients typically are told all of the risks that they could be taking before getting it done.

As for your other question, the death rates for these types of surgery is typically low; however, the risk is always still there. JAMA Surgery's website states the ten-year survival rate was about 91.2% for 233 bariatric surgeries.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/entertainment/lisa-marie-presley-cause-of-death/index.html

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/400707#:~:text=They%20also%20reported%20a%2010,time%20and%2063%20subsequent%20deaths.
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by Novice (580 points)
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I really liked how you provided statistics about bariatric surgeries and how it pertains to the subject.
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by Apprentice (1.0k points)
According to BBC, this is correct. The surgery was performed many years ago which blocked the small intestine causing death. This is a long term affect of this surgery.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66195853
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by Apprentice (1.0k points)

Presley died from cardiac arrest caused by the latent bowel obstruction from her initial weight loss surgery, therefore the claim is true.  A bowel obstruction is a complication from that kind of surgery, and can lead to cardiac arrest if symptoms of obstruction are ignored or unnoticed.  The possible symptoms of a bowel obstruction complication are nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps.  While cardiac arrest from this surgery is unlikely, and Presley's death is an "outlier", it is still possible.  A Health.com article about Presley's death explains the scenario, "'The two can be connected,' Schoen said. 'Let’s say there was a perforation [hole] of the small intestine, or a segment of the small intestine died from lack of blood flow. Then that person can get very sick, develop sepsis, and lead to cardiopulmonary arrest.'" (Landwehr 2023).  A bowel obstruction is any case scenario where the gut is blocked and cannot properly function, luckily there is a less than 5% chance of this happening after a practiced weight loss surgery, they are considered safe by professionals.  Tragically, Presley did not have the guarentee of statistics and her symptoms of complications went unheeded, resulting in cardiac arrest.

https://www.health.com/small-bowel-obstruction-cause-of-death-7562762#:~:text=The%20condition%20would%20have%20to,be%20connected%2C%E2%80%9D%20Schoen%20said.

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1 like 0 dislike
by Novice (580 points)

The claim at hand states that Lisa Marie Presley died from a small bowel obstruction which was a complication from her weight loss surgery years earlier. Daily Mail is known as a fast news outlet that does report news quickly, so may not have all the facts. 

When I researched, I learned that Lisa Marie Presley did undergo bariatric surgery years ago. This claim was confirmed by multiples news sources and the Los Angeles Medical Examiner office. According to LA Medical Examiner Juan M. Carillo stated that "Ms. Presley's health problems after the bariatric surgery as a 'known long term complication of this type of surgery'." The autopsy report was referenced many times so this is to believe that the sources are official and credible. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/arts/music/lisa-marie-presley-death-cause.html

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by Legend (6.6k points)

In a sense this is true, as according to NPR  "The January 12th death at age 54 of the singer, songwriter and heir of Elvis Presley was ruled as being from natural causes due to effects of a small bowel obstruction." As stated by her report it was due to complications of the surgery, however claiming it to be just the surgery and not specifying the complications could be misleading. As ironic as this may be, the claim of her death is similar to her father's as rumor claimed he died while on the toilet due to constipation, whereas the real cause of death was his heart failure mixed with drug abuse. So while they may both link to heart/weight problems there were other factors that were the main cause of their unfortunate passings.

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by Journeyman (2.8k points)
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Nice to incorporate her father and how similar they were. That both of their deaths happened from something they were both struggling with and very unfortunate how they both ended up. Overall this comment is nice and short with straightforwardness and enough evidence to prove so.

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