Celebrities Who Tragically Died From Undergoing Surgery

Over the years, there have been several celebrities who have died during or as a result of surgery, be it elective or routine, leaving families devastated and the world stunned. One of the most shocking losses, for example, was comedienne Joan Rivers, who died in September 2014 after undergoing a throat procedure. Something that was meant to make Rivers' quality of life better ended up claiming her life, leaving fans all over the globe completely heartbroken. Another devastating case was that of Kanye West's mother, Donda West, who died in November 2007 after undergoing elective cosmetic surgery. Though she had reportedly received medical clearance beforehand, complications following the surgery proved fatal.

These are just two examples of tragedies that highlight how surgeries can go terribly wrong, even when procedures are performed at reputable hospitals by experienced doctors. Whether it be an unexpected reaction to anesthesia, complications post-surgery, or other internal complications that were undiagnosed, there are numerous things that can happen in the blink of an eye — many times without warning. Some of these unexpected deaths have led to legal battles, with families filing wrongful death lawsuits after losing their loved one, for example. All of that said, let's take a look at some of the most well-known stars who we've lost while undergoing surgery.

In 2012, astronaut Neil Armstrong underwent heart surgery at the age of 82. His doctors performed coronary bypass surgery after discovering that Armstrong had four blockages in his coronary arteries — a serious condition, but a surgery that is performed fairly regularly. While it doesn't cure heart disease, the surgery has a high success of reducing symptoms, such as chest pain and shortness of breath, and it can improve overall quality of life. The outcome of Armstrong's surgery was thought to be good and he was recovering well. However, a couple of weeks later, Armstrong suffered a major complication. Internal bleeding led to a variety of problems that ultimately caused his death on August 25. 

"We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures," his family said in a statement that was shared by NASA. He was described as a "loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend." The statement continued, "While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves." 

"General Hospital" actor Anthony Geary died in December 2025 following complications he suffered after undergoing a "scheduled operation" just three days prior. Details about the exact kind of surgery weren't made available, nor were any additional details about his tragic death at 78. Geary retired from "General Hospital" in 2015, making one final appearance on the series as Luke Spencer in 2017 after nearly 2,000 episodes on the popular soap. Geary appeared to be embracing retirement, moving from Los Angeles to Amsterdam and marrying husband Claudio Gama in 2019. It is presumed that Geary's surgery took place in Amsterdam, though that has not been confirmed.

"It was a shock for me and our families and our friends. For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband," Gama said in a statement given to TV Insider. Geary's death was heartbreaking to his family, friends, and fans, many of whom loved watching him on television for the many years he appeared on "General Hospital." He'd been nominated for an impressive 17 Daytime Emmys, taking home a total of eight wins before he left Hollywood. On January 1, 2026, "General Hospital" paid tribute to the actor by re-airing his final episode.

Lucille Ball rose to fame in the 1950s. She became a household name when the first season of the beloved sitcom, "I Love Lucy," premiered in 1951. Ball had an incredible career that spanned decades, but it stopped short due to her untimely death. It was the early spring in 1989 when Ball started feeling unwell. The actress was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after experiencing severe chest and back pain. She underwent emergency surgery when doctors found an aortic dissection. The somewhat rare condition occurs when the body's largest artery — the aorta — is torn and blood enters, which ultimately causes layers of the artery to split. An aortic dissection can be deadly if blood travels outside of the artery. 

After Ball's surgery, she appeared to be doing okay, with reports indicating that she was up and about, walking around her hospital room. One week later, however, Ball suffered another rupture. Despite efforts to resuscitate her, Ball had gone into complete heart failure. Ball died in the early morning hours of April 26, 1989 at Cedars-Sinai at the age of 77. "There was nothing to indicate this would happen," hospital spokesman Ronald Wise said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "The heart itself apparently was not involved in Miss Ball's sudden death."

Iconic comedienne and talk show host Joan Rivers died unexpectedly after undergoing surgery at a hospital in New York in September 2014. Rivers had planned to undergo a laryngoscopy, a routine procedure that is performed for a variety of reasons, including persistent sore throats or changes to the voice due to an issue with the larynx. In Rivers' case, she had been experiencing unexplained hoarseness as well as some unpleasant acid reflux, which doctors wanted to further investigate. While under sedation during the outpatient procedure, Rivers' blood oxygen level dropped. She wasn't getting enough oxygen to her brain for an extended period of time, which caused brain damage. Rivers' heart stopped after she was sedated with propofol. She was placed on life support and later died.

Following an autopsy, the medical examiner determined that Rivers died from "therapeutic complication," telling the press that "the death resulted from a predictable complication of medical therapy," according to Reuters. It was later confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter that Rivers was scheduled to undergo an esophagogastroduodenoscopy, but that a doctor performed an unplanned nasolaryngoscopy. The doctor was reportedly not authorized to perform the procedure, which ultimately led to Rivers' daughter, Melissa Rivers, filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the Yorkville Endoscopy Center. She settled the case with the hospital for eight figures. "I am able to put the legal aspects of my mother's death behind me and ensure that those culpable for her death have accepted responsibility," Melissa told Entertainment Tonight in 2016.

Actor Bill Paxton, who was best known for his roles in blockbuster films such as "Apollo 13" and "Aliens," died in 2017 after undergoing heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm and a heart valve. According to his official death certificate, Paxton suffered a stroke just 11 days after the surgery was completed. About a year after his tragic death, Paxton's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his surgeon, Dr. Ali Khoynezhad, claiming that the doctor used a "high risk and unconventional surgical approach" that was considered "unnecessary," according to the Associated Press. Moreover, the family alleged that Dr. Khoynezhad didn't have the experience to perform the procedure in the manner he did. The family stated that Paxton suffered "excessive bleeding, cardiogenic shock and a compromised coronary artery" following the surgery. The family included General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership in its lawsuit as well.

In February 2022, NBC News reported that Paxton's family had reached a $1 million settlement in the case. Per court records obtained by the outlet, "the anesthesia group denied responsibility ... saying it 'contends that its personnel complied with the standard of care insofar as their involvement in the care and treatment of ... Paxton, and nothing their personnel did or didn't do caused or contributed to his death.'"

Hearts across the world were broken when "The Great Escape" star Steve McQueen was diagnosed with cancer in 1979. His specific diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma is considered rare and aggressive. It affects the lining of the lungs, chest, and abdominal cavities and it's most commonly linked to asbestos exposure. Despite a grim prognosis, McQueen wasn't ready to give up hope. According to The New York Times, he reached out to a clinic in Baja California where he underwent a "controversial regimen involving special diets, nutritional supplements, injections of animal cells and, reportedly, laetrile." Specialists felt that McQueen's tumor was operable, so they prepared him for surgery. However, he suffered a heart attack following that surgery, which took place at a hospital in Juarez, Mexico. 

Dr. Cesar Santos Vargas, who worked at the clinic and did the operation, said that McQueen was "a man sure of himself and very sincere," according to the El Paso Times. Santos Vargas also said that McQueen appeared to be stable after the two-hour surgery was completed, but that the actor had developed respiratory problems a short while later. McQueen "died of heart failure a few hours later," per the report. He was just 50-years-old.

In May 2023, Jacky Oh — who you may recognize from MTV's, "Wild 'N Out" — died at the age of 33. "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jacklyn Smith, known to the world as Jacky Oh, a talented 'Wild 'N Out' family member whose impact will be forever treasured and missed," BET Media Group said in a statement given to People magazine. After the news was confirmed, additional details about Jacky's death were made public. Initially, TMZ reported that Jacky died in Miami. The outlet reported that there was a since-deleted post on social media that claimed that Jacky was in the Sunshine State to undergo a "mommy makeover."

A few months after Jacky died, TMZ obtained the autopsy report that confirmed that the MTV star died from complications from cosmetic surgery. Page Six was able to confirm that Jacky underwent a "gluteal augmentation," which is more commonly known as a Brazilian butt lift. Days later, a representative from the Miami Police Department told People magazine that Jacky's death had been ruled "accidental." As far as what actually happened, the medical examiner's report indicated that Jacky had been recovering from the surgery when she "began to feel like her head was burning" and was having "difficulty speaking" (via Page Six). Her aunt reportedly called 911, but Jacky was unresponsive by the time emergency personnel arrived. She was transported to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. Meanwhile, the doctor who performed the surgery, Zachary "Dr. Zach" Okhah, didn't face any charges due to the cause of death being accidental in nature.

Iconic comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield is on the list of stars who unfortunately died from surgery. In October 2004, Dangerfield's publicist Kevin Sasaki confirmed that the "Caddyshack" star had died at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center; the 82-year-old had undergone heart surgery at the facility just two months prior. In August 2004, CBS News reported that Dangerfield had heart valve replacement surgery. In typical Dangerfield fashion, the actor made a joke about the whole ordeal. "If things go right, I'll be there about a week, and if things don't go right, I'll be there about an hour and a half," he said prior to his surgery date. The outlet also reported that Dangerfield underwent brain surgery a year prior "to reduce his chances of having a stroke during the heart operation." Unfortunately, Sasaki said that Dangerfield "suffered a small stroke and developed infectious and abdominal complications" shortly thereafter and was left in a coma, according to Today. Dangerfield came to just days before his devastating death. "When Rodney emerged, he kissed me, squeezed my hand and smiled for his doctors," his wife, Joan Child said — but the glimmer of hope didn't last. 

Dangerfield received an incredible outpouring of love and support from family, friends, colleagues, and fans. He is survived by his wife (Joan) and two adult children from a previous marriage.

Andy Warhol was scheduled to undergo gallbladder surgery in 1987, but he never made it out of the hospital. The pop artist had been putting off the surgery — which was initially reported to be "routine" — for quite some time because of his anxiety. "He could have gotten [the surgery] scheduled and done earlier, had he been more preventative about his health, but until the end, he avoided hospitals. He was always nervous about getting sick," Jose Diaz, curator of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said, according to History.com. After the surgery, seemed to be doing well, but in the early morning hours, a nurse found him unresponsive. Despite resuscitation efforts, Warhol didn't make it. His official cause of death was determined to be "ventricular fibrillation," which the Mayo Clinic calls an "irregular heart rhythm." Considered an emergency situation, a patient experiencing ventricular fibrillation will often lose consciousness. If the condition is not caught in time, the patient is unlikely to survive. 

In 2017, The New York Times did a bit of a deep dive on Warhol's gallbladder surgery, with a doctor telling the outlet that it was anything but routine for Warhol. Dr. John Ryan told the outlet that the surgery was "major," and that it was exacerbated by Warhol being "very sick." Warhol's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital. They presented evidence that suggested Warhol experienced "over-hydration" during the surgery, and it ultimately led to his death. According to The Collector, the hospital settled the case for $3 million.

In 2007, news broke that Kanye West's mother, Donda West, had died. A publicist confirmed that Donda died "as the result of complications from a cosmetic surgical procedure," according to ABC News. Indeed, Donda had checked in to a Los Angeles-area hospital on November 9, 2007, to undergo a variety of procedures, including a breast reduction, tummy tuck, and liposuction. Although Donda had been cleared for surgery, she had some underlying health issues that contributed to her death, which were found during her autopsy. Specifically, Donda had coronary artery disease, via ABC 7 Chicago. In addition, due to the fact that she was considered overweight, she had ended up with another post-surgery complication: bronchopneumonia in one lung. "It is my opinion Ms. West died from some pre-existing coronary artery disease and multiple postoperative factors following surgery," Dr. Louis A. Pena, a deputy medical examiner, stated in the report.

West was understandably heartbroken when he lost his mom. At first, he didn't say much about the tragedy, perhaps trying to deal with it privately. As time went on, however, he began speaking about the light that his mother was in his life. "There's nothing that she loved more than to come to the shows and scream louder than any fan, because she was my first fan that was screaming before anybody else, and my first manager," he said during one of his shows in Brussels in the weeks after his mother's death, according to People magazine. "If she was here, she would tell me to 'get on that stage and kill it, dawg!'" he added.