Grieving Mother Dies by Suicide After Daughter's Botched Surgery Abroad

A grieving mother died by suicide after her daughter succumbed to complications from a gastric band surgery in Turkey, her ex-husband stated. Erin Gibson, 46, was found dead at her South London home on May 29, two days after an inquest into her daughter Morgan Ribeiro's death was scheduled to take place.

Richard Ribeiro, Ms. Gibson's ex-husband and Ms. Ribeiro's father, said the trauma of his daughter's death and the subsequent struggle to hold those responsible accountable contributed to Ms. Gibson's passing. "We lost Morgan and as a direct result, we lost Erin," Ribeiro said. "The impact on this family of what happened back in January 2024 has been immense."

Ms. Ribeiro, 20, a nursery worker, traveled to Istanbul on January 5, 2024, for a gastric sleeve operation. The procedure, which costs between £8,000 and £10,000 in the UK, was obtained by Ms. Ribeiro for £2,500 at the Medivita hospital. Three days after the surgery, she was cleared to fly back to the UK despite experiencing abdominal pain and a fever. Her condition worsened during the flight, forcing an emergency landing in Belgrade, Serbia, where she was admitted to intensive care. Ms. Ribeiro died five days later, on January 13, 2024.

An inquest into her death was initially set for May 27 but was adjourned because the surgeon who performed the procedure, Dr. Serkan Bayil, could not be located by South London Coroner's Court. The inquest eventually took place on September 4, but Ribeiro described it as uninformative. The court heard that during emergency surgery in Serbia, medical professionals discovered Ms. Ribeiro's intestinal wall had ruptured. Assistant Coroner Laura Stephenson concluded that peritonitis caused by the rupture, likely a result of the gastric sleeve surgery, was the medical cause of death.

Ribeiro expressed frustration over the lack of accountability and closure. "I will not let this rest because it just seems so wrong," he stated. "We've learned nothing."

He noted that Ms. Gibson may have been affected by the possibility of the inquest being adjourned. When he went to her home to travel to the inquest together on May 27, he received no answer. The Metropolitan Police confirmed a body was found two days later.

"We have not had the closure we've looked for, nobody has paid for what happened to Morgan and nothing has been done to prevent something like this happening to families in the future," Ribeiro said. "I desperately, desperately don't want to see history repeat itself with anybody else but all you see on social media are adverts for cheap surgery abroad."

He questioned the lack of action, stating, "These people have got away with it scot-free. How can this be right? How many more have got to die before something actually happens, and regulations are brought in, to save these young people?"

Dr. Bayil previously denied botching the surgery when tracked down by a Turkish newspaper in 2024. Global Medical Care, the agency used by Ms. Ribeiro for travel and surgery arrangements, was found to be listed at a South London address that was a boarded-up terraced house. The agency had refuted claims of operating fraudulently in the UK and stated it had stopped working with both the surgeon and the clinic involved in Ms. Ribeiro's case. For confidential support, the Samaritans can be reached at 116 123.