Joan Rivers' daughter responds after autopsy results

17 October 2014 - 10:43 By Bang Showbiz
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Joan Rivers' daughter Melissa is ''saddened'' following the results of her mother's autopsy.

Melissa Rivers - Joan's only child - took to her Twitter account last night after it was confirmed the former Fashion Police host, 81, died from ''predictable'' surgical complications while undergoing a minor operation on her vocal cords on August 28.

She tweeted: ''In response to NYC's Medical examiner's report, we continue to be saddened by our tragic loss. No further comment at this time.''

The New York City Medical Examiner's Office released a statement yesterday afternoon stating that Joan's brain had been starved of oxygen after she suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest on the operating table.

The report reads: ''OCME 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.''

Joan had been undergoing the throat operation at the private Yorkville Endoscopy in New York City, but was rushed to Mount Sinai hospital and placed in a medically-induced coma after doctors failed to resuscitate her at the clinic. Joan sadly passed away on September 4 and was laid to rest at a service at the Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan on September 7.

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