- Morgan Ribeiro underwent weight loss surgery in Turkey after years of bullying
The grief-stricken mother of a young British woman who died after a botched weight-loss operation has accused the cosmetic surgery clinic in Turkey of ‘taking her money and leaving her to die’.
Morgan Ribeiro flew to Turkey to undergo a gastric sleeve operation after suffering years of bullying about her weight.
But the 20-year-old from south London died from complications in a Serbian hospital after her return flight to Britain had to make an emergency landing in Belgrade when she became severely unwell.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Morgan’s heartbroken mother Erin Gibson has condemned the cosmetic surgery clinic for releasing her daughter from the hospital in Istanbul just three days after the botched operation, while she was suffering an infection.
‘No mother should have to go through the pain that I am going through,’ she told MailOnline.
‘She [Morgan] paid £2,500 to a company in Switzerland but the operation was done in Turkey. But they botched the operation. After the plane made an emergency landing in Serbia the doctors there found that they had perforated her small intestine. The surgeon shouldn’t have been anywhere near there. And she had got an infection from the operation.
‘There was no way Morgan should have been discharged from hospital after only three days following such a complicated procedure. They took her money, and they left her to die.
These people need to be stopped. They are only interested in selling our young people a dream. But what is it for? To conform to the pressures of society.’
Mrs Gibson, a mother-of-five, added: ‘She was a beautiful girl, both inside and out. She booked this surgery without my knowledge. I would never had had let her go ahead with it if I had known.’
Erin told how she had become estranged from her ‘head-strong’ daughter in the six months leading up to the operation at the beginning of January this year.
She said: ‘I am head-strong and so is Morgan. We were estranged for the past six months, and it was during this time that she researched this weight-loss surgery.
‘She was interested in the bargain price. The clinic only highlights the successes, not the failures.
‘If I had had known I would have shown her risks.
‘I only found out she was having the operation on the day she flew out and by then it was too late.’
She added: ‘The Serbian doctors and authorities have been great.
‘They told me this is the third time a plane carrying a British cosmetic surgery patient has had to make an emergency landing in Belgrade because of medical complications.
‘The Serbian prosecutor’s office and the British authorities have launched investigations into Morgan’s death.
‘I hope it doesn’t happen to another girl, to another woman’s daughter.’
During the operation, surgeons removed over 10cm of Morgan’s small intestine but tragically Morgan suffered a heart attack on January 9 and was placed in an induced coma – dying four days later in a hospital in Belgrade.
Her sister, 26-year-old Kayleigh Ribeiro had begged her not to go through with the surgery which carries a number of complicating health risks.
In advance of the procedure, Morgan had had a virtual consultation with the Turkish company in September 2023 before booking the January operation.
Her boyfriend James claims that hospital staff and translators speaking to her did not mention the dangers associated with the operation prior to Morgan going under the knife.
The organisation that connected Morgan with the Turkish surgeon has denied any wrongdoing
Following her operation on their Wizz Air flight home, he recalled that Morgan was ‘really hot and in a lot of pain.’
He explained: ‘The flight attendant gave her some ice and water and she was finding it hard to breathe so they took her to the front of the plane where there was more space, they tried to give her an oxygen mask.
‘I could tell something was seriously wrong.’
A Wizz Air spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that during a flight from Istanbul to London Gatwick we made a diversion to Belgrade due to a passenger requiring medical assistance.
‘The health and safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority, and in this instance the passenger was disembarked from the aircraft to seek urgent medical attention.
‘We’re incredibly saddened to hear of the passenger passing away following their medical treatment and our thoughts remain with their family at this time.’
A government spokesman said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British woman who died in Belgrade and are in contact with the local authorities.
‘We urge anyone considering a medical procedure abroad to review our travel advice and the relevant guidance from the NHS and other professional bodies.’
Morgan’s tragic death comes days after a 26-year-old mother-of-three died days after a Brazilian bum-lift operation in Turkey.
Demi Agoglia of Salford, Greater Manchester, is said to have become ill despite doctors initially declaring her surgery last Thursday was successful.
The 26-year-old, who had a seven-month-old baby boy, first said she felt unwell just hours before she was due to return to Manchester, The Sun reported.
The young woman was taken into intensive care but was tragically pronounced dead last Monday.
She had flown to Turkey having already had dental work which was botched as well as another surgery.
Number of Brits needing hospital treatment after getting cosmetic surgery abroad DOUBLES in three years amid booming popularity of Turkey’s cosmetic clinics
By John Ely Senior Health reporter for MailOnline
Cut-price overseas butt lifts, tummy tucks and ‘mommy makeovers’ in Turkey are landing more and more Brits in hospital, a new audit warns.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) found 324 Brits have needed medical treatment or corrective surgery after having gone under the knife overseas since 2018.
This has surged 94 per cent in three years, the organisation claimed, as increasing numbers of Brits seek to look more like their celebrity idols.
Turkey was the largest source of botched ops, BAAPS figures suggested.
Almost 80 per cent of Brits who needed corrective ops in the last year were treated originally in surgical tourism hubs like Istanbul and Ankara.
Other big surgical destinations for Brits included the Czech Republic and Lithuania, according to BAAPS.
Brits who head abroad for cut-price surgery are coming home with life-threatening infections, implants bursting through the skin and blood clots.
Some are even returning with antibiotic-resistant bugs, medics warned.
Such bacteria are known to leap between patients in hospital settings, triggering potentially fatal infections.
An estimated 12,000 Brits are killed by drug-resistant bacteria every year.
Procedures to treat botched cosmetic ops cost the NHS millions of pounds each year.
BAAPS estimates the average cost to the health service of treating a Brit botched overseas is about £15,000, putting the total bill since 2018 at about £4.8million.
This bill represents the cost of resources like medication and dressings, as well as the time surgeons and other NHS staff must spend on such cases.
While the £15,000 figure is an average, surgeons have previously told this website more serious cases can cost upwards of £100,000 to the taxpayer.
BAAPS’s president Marc Pacifico said the audit only includes surgeons who are members of the charity, and therefore, are an underestimate of the issue.
‘We are only scratching the surface of the true number needing treatment on an already-stretched health service with a record-high waiting list,’ he said.
Mr Pacifico said BAPPS is in discussion with regulators and governments, both here in the UK and abroad to try and reduce the number of botched overseas surgeries.
‘We’re not trying to stop this, we’re in no position to and nor is this what we’re aiming for,’ he said.
‘We’re aiming to try and raise awareness, increase safety, ultimately protect patients but also relieve the burden on the NHS.’
He said one of these discussions is about advs promoting surgery overseas, with too many Brits lured to places like Turkey thinking they can go under the knife and enjoy a holiday in the sun at the same time.
‘Nothing could be further from the truth,’ Mr Pacifico warned.
He added:’ Medical advice and support for people looking to go abroad is drowned and dwarfed by the number of paid promotions and glossy advertisements for the cosmetic tourism market itself’.
MailOnline has previously warned about so-called ‘all inclusive’ package deals that offer Brits weighing up surgery luxury hotels, VIP airport transfers and more to sweeten the deal as well as discounts on multiple operations.
BAAPS audit of the 324 cases where Brits required treatment doesn’t include information on outcomes, such as if patients made a full recovery or suffered life-long injuries.
But at least 25 Brits are known to have died following medical procedures in Turkey since January 2019, according to Government data.
Price isn’t the only factor driving Brits to seek cosmetic surgery overseas.
British surgeons have previously warned this website that Turkish clinics will also perform procedures on Brits who ‘should never have gone under the knife’.
Such cases can be because Brits are too fat or have other health conditions that make them more likely to suffer dangerous complications post-surgery.
Turkish clinics have also been known to offer extreme procedures like mega-liposuction, which are not offered in the UK due to the risks to the patient.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
