WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The wife of country music legend Hank Williams Jr. died of a collapsed lung that was punctured during cosmetic surgery the previous day, a Palm Beach County medical examiner's autopsy report obtained by WPTV revealed.
Mary Jane Thomas, 58, died March 22 at Jupiter Medical Center.
The autopsy report, obtained Monday by WPTV, listed the manner of death as accidental.
According to the medical examiner's report, Dr. Harold Bafitis performed Thomas' breast reduction and liposuction surgery March 21 at Bafitis Plastic Surgery in Jupiter.
An employee who answered the telephone number listed for Bafitis Plastic Surgery's Jupiter office said the doctor was with a patient and unavailable for comment. WPTV later received an email referring all inquiries to an area attorney. Attempts to contact him for comment were unsuccessful.
Thomas, who had traveled from her home in Tennessee, was recovering in her room at the Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa, where she "was sitting up in bed, speaking normally," when she suddenly "became unresponsive," Jupiter police Detective Salvatore Mattino noted in the report.
A caregiver called the front desk at the resort, and the hotel manager called 911.
Thomas was rushed by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue to Jupiter Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency room.
Mattino noted that Thomas was a smoker and had a history of alcohol addiction, but there were no signs of alcohol in the room.
According to the report, Baftis told Mattino that Thomas had been cleared for surgery by her doctor in Nashville, Tennessee, and had no known allergies to any medications.
The toxicology report showed that Thomas tested positive for amphetamines, antidepressants, antihistamines and muscle relaxants.
Medical records showed Thomas had a history of hypothyroidism, chronic neck and back pain, and insomnia.
The autopsy findings by associate medical examiner Dr. Heidi Reinhard were signed Friday, exactly four months after Thomas' death.
According to the report, Williams was upset and didn't want to speak with police about the incident. Williams communicated with police through his business manager.
Thomas met the 73-year-old "All My Rowdy Friends" singer at one of his concerts in 1985. They were married in 1990.
