A court revealed today that a 20-year-old woman passed away due to an abdominal infection shortly after undergoing weight-loss surgery in Turkey. Morgan Ribeiro, a resident of Croydon, south London, had traveled to Istanbul on January 5, 2024, for a gastric sleeve procedure costing £2,500. Three days after the surgery, she was given clearance to fly back to the UK by her surgeon. However, on the return flight to London with her partner, Jamie Brewster, she fell severely ill, prompting an emergency landing in Belgrade, Serbia. Despite being admitted to an intensive care unit, she tragically succumbed on January 13.
According to Assistant Coroner Laura Stephenson, a post mortem report from Serbia indicated that Ms. Ribeiro’s death resulted from diffuse inflammation of the retroperitoneum and a rupture of the intestinal wall, likely stemming from a punctured small intestine during the initial surgery in Turkey. The coroner expressed frustration over the lack of cooperation from the operating surgeon, Dr. Serkan Bayil, who had attributed Ms. Ribeiro’s death to an embolism rather than the infection identified in the post mortem report.
Efforts to contact Dr. Bayil for information regarding the surgery have been ongoing since December, with no response received. The inquest into Ms. Ribeiro’s death has been adjourned until August 28 to allow for further attempts to reach the surgeon. Her family, including her devastated father Richard Ribeiro and mother Erin Gibson, have been vocal about seeking justice and ensuring that similar tragedies are prevented in the future.
Erin Gibson, in particular, has been advocating against individuals seeking weight-loss surgery abroad, emphasizing the need for stricter regulations and raising awareness about body image issues on social media. The family’s pursuit of answers and accountability in the face of this tragic loss underscores their determination to uncover the truth behind Morgan’s untimely death.
