According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Maurice Gibb died from his small intestine twisting itself into a knot, creating a blockage and cutting off blood flow to his bowels. During the autopsy of the 53-year-old singer, doctors found that Gibb was born with a malformed intestine that can be life-threatening in some circumstances.
On January 9, 2003, Maurice collapsed in his home and was taken to the hospital for treatment. As told by Biography, three days later, he was preparing to undergo emergency abdominal surgery when he suffered a heart attack. The surgery proceeded as the blockage had become life-threatening.
Dr. Jeffrey Raskin, interim chief of gastroenterology at the University of Miami medical school, said, "People [with his condition] can live to middle age with no symptoms. They can have minor problems off and on. Or, they can present on the first time with a catastrophic event, as it seems in this case," per the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The autopsy showed that parts of the small intestine were removed from Gibb, indicating that the surgeons found a section of dead bowel. Rankin, who wasn't involved in the case, said when the bowel goes too long without blood, tissue can rupture leading to waste spilling into the abdominal cavity and potentially causing life-threatening infections. The autopsy also found a 60% blockage of a blood vessel that led to the heart, leading doctors to theorize this was the cause of the heart attack.
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