Coroner may order an inquest into the death of Lena Zavaroni

She had battled with anorexia since the age of 13 and had hoped the highly controversial treatment would cure her. However, she is thought to have suffered heart failure after contracting a post-operative infection which her three-and-a-half stone frame was too weak to shake off.

Dr Lawrence Addicott, HM coroner for Cardiff, who will decide whether there is to be an investigation into her death, said: ''It is a very sad loss of a young life. I am sure everyone who knew Miss Zavaroni will be upset by this. But I will have to consider the full facts of the case before making any decision on an inquest.''

Doctors at the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff, who have so far refused to give details of the rarely-used procedure, could be called to give evidence if an investigation is ordered.

Rothesay-born Zavaroni had the operation two weeks ago and friends said it appeared to be a success, but she later developed a blood infection which caused heart failure. If the cause of her death is ruled to be natural causes, there will be no inquest, despite the experimental nature of the surgery.

Dr Addicott said: ''I am aware of the case, although the hospital has not officially reported it to me yet. The family have not requested any urgent funeral arrangements. I would expect to hear more from the hospital in the morning.''

Zavaroni carved out a successful singing career after appearing on Hughie Green's talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1974. Her early achievements included the chart-topping hit Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me.

She went on to perform for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance when she was just 12 and appeared in concerts with Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli. But by the age of 13, the little girl with the big voice had developed an eating disorder which plagued the next 22 years of her life.

Before going into hospital, Zavaroni was living in a council flat in Hertfordshire and surviving on benefits of #48.80 a week but, according to one newspaper, dreamed of a return to show business just weeks before her death.

She died on Friday with her father Victor, 60, and sister Carla, 37, at her bedside.

Brain surgery is a highly un-usual treatment for anorexia but it is understood that Zavaroni saw the operation as a last chance that ''would either kill or cure her''.

She was known to suffer from depression and revealed in an interview last year that doctors at a London hospital were considering the possibility that she had a rare disorder which had damaged the emotional centre of her brain.

Although the operation is rare, it is understood Zavaroni was not the first anorexic to undergo surgery at the Welsh teaching hospital.

Spokesman Bob Burrows said: ''We are one of the UK's premier teaching hospitals and at the leading edge of research and medical technology. Miss Zavaroni came to Cardiff because we are one of the few centres in the world that carry out this operation.''

Ms Zavaroni's cousin Margaret said yesterday that messages from well-wishers had continued to flood in to family members in Rothesay, where the child star grew up. ''There had been flowers, cards, and phone calls from people expressing their sym-pathy.'' She said of Zavaroni's father Victor: ''He is not coping at all. He is terribly upset, and crying all the time. He and Lena were very close.''

She said that although no date had been set for the funeral, it would take place in Hertfordshire, where Zavaroni's father and younger sister Carla also live.