Lisa Marie Presley died of complications from bariatric surgery. Here's how the procedure can cause a small bowel obstruction.

• Lisa Marie Presley's cause of death was a small bowel obstruction linked to bariatric surgery.
• An autopsy report said SBO is a common complication of bariatric surgery.

Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of rock and roll sensation Elvis Presley, died of complications linked to bariatric surgery, according to authorities.

Presley died suddenly at the age of 54 in January 2023. Insider previously reported that the Medical Examiner of Los Angeles County revealed on Thursday that she died due to complications from a small bowel obstruction linked to the procedure, which she had several years ago.

A SBO is a blockage in the small intestine, which stops food or liquid from moving normally through the digestive tract. Without treatment, the blocked parts of the intestine can die, which can be life-threatening. More commonly though, complications include pain, constipation, fever, loss of appetite, or the inability to keep food or fluids down.

Common symptoms and signs of SBO include abdominal pain, bloating, and vomiting. An autopsy report seen by the Associated Press said Presley was complaining of stomach pain on the day of her death. Paramedics later responded to a 911 call that a woman at her home was in cardiac arrest, and she was transported to a Los Angeles hospital where she died later that day.

However, a bariatric surgery that Presley had years ago was identified as the cause of the bowel obstruction in the autopsy report, according to the AP. Most cases of SBO in the US are a result of prior surgeries.

Bariatric surgery is an umbrella term for weight-loss surgeries. The American Association for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery estimates that more than 262,000 bariatric surgeries were performed in the US in 2021.

The most common procedure is gastric bypass, according to the Mayo Clinic. This is when an incision is made at the top of the stomach, creating a small pouch typically the size of a walnut, which is then connected to the small intestine. It becomes the only part of your stomach that food goes into, limiting the amount you can eat.

Small bowel obstructions are one of the common complications of bariatric surgery

Small bowel obstructions are "relatively common" in bariatric surgery patients, according to the authors of a 2015 paper that found 6% of 249 surgeries studied were followed by an SBO.

Hernias caused the condition for some patients, but data from the study said that adhesions were by far the most common cause.

Abdominal adhesions are bands of scar tissue that form inside the abdomen. They form between two or more organs and can cause the organs' surfaces to stick together. This means, when you move, the adhesions can twist, pull or compress the organs, which can cause symptoms and complications such as intestinal obstructions.

According to a review published in the journal Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open, bowel obstruction related to adhesions is more common after open procedures, while in patients who have had a prior laparoscopic, or keyhole, gastric bypass, over 50% are caused by internal hernias.