Elvis Presley autopsy kit up for auction

Instruments used in Elvis Presley's autopsy and embalming are going up for auction in Chicago, including the "John Doe" toe tag used after the original was stolen amid the chaos at the hospital following his death.

The items were saved by the senior embalmer at the Memphis Funeral Home, which prepared the singer's body Photo: REUTERS

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977 aged 42 Photo: AP

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will hold the auction Aug. 12, four days before the 33rd anniversary of Presley's death.

The auction house said that all of the items used in the autopsy and funeral preparations will be available, from rubber gloves and forceps to a comb and eye liner. Even the coffin invoice and the hanger used to hold Presley's burial suit will be sold.

The items were saved by the senior embalmer at the Memphis Funeral Home, which prepared the singer's body.

The items will be auctioned in two sets valued at up to $6,000 (£3,900) and $8,000 (£5,200).

Presley died at the age of 42 after years of abuse of prescription drugs. He was found on the bathroom floor in his home at Graceland, Memphis, and attempts to revive him failed.

His post mortem stated that he had died a heart attack. His autopsy results will not be made public until 2027, 50 years after his death.

Elvis Presley Died from Chronic Constipation - His Doctor Tells ALL

Elvis Presley fans have long believed that their "King of Rock n' Roll" died from an irregular heartbeat aka cardiac arrhythmia and that that condition was caused from Presley's obesity, drug dependency and weak heart.

However, Dr. George “Nick” Nichopoulos, Presley's doctor and friend has finally come forward and written down what he thinks killed Presley and Nichopoulos' findings are not pretty... Nichopoulos believes chronic constipation was the cause.

For more than the last decade, “Dr. Nick” was by Presley’s side and was the one who tried to resuscitate him when he died. Nichopoulos also just released a book titled, “The King and Dr. Nick" about what he believes caused Elvis Presley's death and the time they shared together.

“Dr. Nick” told POP TARTS that “After he died we weren’t sure (of the exact cause of death) so I continued to do some research and I had some doctors call me from different places and different med schools that were doing research on constipation and different problems you can get into with it. I just want to get the story straight – it all made sense with the new research that was done...
We didn’t realize until the autopsy that his constipation was as bad – we knew it was bad because it was hard for us to treat, but we didn’t realize what it had done. We just assumed that the constipation was secondary to the meds that he was taking for his arthritic pain and for his insomnia."

The autopsy showed that Presley’s colon was 8 to 9 feet in length as compared to the normal 4 to 5 feet long and was 5 to 6 inches in diameter as compared to the normal2 to 3 inches.

Back in the 70's, a colostomy which is surgery to remove part of the colon was the primary treatment for chronic constipation but Presley’s “ego” wouldn't allow him to follow through with it.

Nichopoulos said, “[Elvis] would get embarrassed, he’d have accidents onstage. He’d have to change clothes and come back because of the way we were trying to treat his constipation. So if they had done the colostomy then, he’d probably still be here. But it wasn’t acceptable treatment at that time. Now the treatment is short.”

The most shocking claim comes as Nichopoulos states that Presley’s obesity may have been caused by his severe constipation and not overeating.

MAN!!! That's just embarrassing! I certainly hope that if I die, all my embarrassing gastrointestinal colon issues die with me, never to be spoken or written about. No one but my doctor and my doctor alone needs to know I can't poop properly or the size of my poop hole or anything pertaining to that area.