Michael Jackson’s death has been ruled a homicide two months after he was found unresponsive in his home. His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, will likely face charges in his death. But was Jackson’s propensity for plastic surgery partially to blame?
The circus that followed Michael Jackson’s death in late June continues. The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled the death a homicide, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. A search warrant affidavit reveals that the King of Pop had lethal levels of propofol in his body when he died, according to the Los Angeles Times. Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal physician to Jackson at the time of his death and the one who administered what would come to be the lethal injection, will likely face criminal charges.
Dr. Murray has already acknowledged that he administered propofol to the 50-year-old pop star the night he died. Murray reported he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks, administering 50 milligrams of the potent drug via IV. The powerful anesthetic (also known as Diprivan) is normally used only in hospitals, and its use is commonly monitored by an anesthesiologist.
Murray believed Jackson was forming an addiction to the powerful sedative, according to records obtained by the Los Angeles Times, and so he chose to give Jackson a milder drug at 1:30 a.m. on June 25th. When Jackson remained awake, Dr. Murray allegedly gave him a shot of lorazepam — a drug similar to Valium — a half hour later, followed by midazolam, another anesthestic used to render someone unconscious before surgery. These medications didn’t induce sleep, so the doctor finally administered 25 milligrams of propofol, and the celebrated star apparently fell asleep right away.
At this point, Dr. Murray admits that he left his patient’s side ostensibly to use the restroom, although other reports indicate that he made several personal phone calls during this time. When he returned, Michael Jackson was no longer breathing. Of course, efforts to resuscitate him proved futile.
The King of Pop presumably received strong sedatives and anesthetics prior to his June bout of insomnia. Some are speculating that he became addicted to the drugs several years ago when undergoing plastic surgery. Although Michael Jackson only admitted to having two cosmetic surgeries on his nose, the transformation of his face over the years indicated that the singer in fact had multiple nose jobs, cheek implants and other work, likely required general anesthesia during each procedure.
The LA County Coroner’s Office has not publicly released the cause of death, and autopsy results have been delayed indefinitely.
It is worth noting, however, that investigators have not accused Murray of procuring the propofol illegally. Jackson had apparently been prescribed the medication from other doctors, including two based in Germany.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:16 am
We have to give the man his due: Michael Jackson was – beyond a shadow of a doubt – a great artist whose recorded legacy will endure for decades, maybe even a century or more. But an examination of his life is riddled with questions of all that might have been; all that should have been. It is more than likely that this was a severely mentally ill human being who never sought the treatment he so desperately needed; surrounded by fawning sycophants who enabled his sickness by constantly reassuring him that he could do no wrong. As John Lennon once said in the same context about Elvis Presley, another victim of the excesses of fame: “It’s always the courtiers that kill the king”.
The sad, inescapable truth is that for reasons we will probably never be able to fully understand, his talent and his career were ultimately wasted. Like Charlie Parker, Montgomery Clift, Judy Garland and Lenny Bruce before him, his brilliance as an artist would be overshadowed by severe, psychological torment and an unexplainable desire for self-destruction. Therein lies the real, unspeakable tragedy of Michael Jackson.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
August 25th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
That Dr. Murray was giving Jackson propofol, an intravenous drug in an unsanctioned manner in California, a state in which he held no medical license, was bad enough to warrant legal action against him, even without an lethal outcome.
Published pictures of Jackson’s bedroom do not show a single monitor of any sort, much less a pulse oximeter. The tonal change of the pulse oximeter would have alerted Murray of Jackson’s desaturation while Murray micturated & could have saved Jackson’s life.
Propofol is safest when titrated with a brain monitor like a BIS. Clearly, this type of monitor would be beyond Murray’s knowledge base as a ‘cardiologist.’ However, the lack of evidence of even so basic a monitor as a pulse oximeter suggests a wanton disregard for human life.
Performing CPR on Jackson in his bed without a board under him is unlikely to produce satisfactory chest compression. Show business is best left to the performers, not their physicians. Leaving Jackson during CPR to summon additional help is absurd on the face of it and suggests the action of someone trying to ‘look good, not do good.’