A grieving mother has died by suicide, two days after an inquest into her daughter's death from a botched cosmetic surgery procedure in Turkey was scheduled to take place. Erin Gibson, 46, was found dead at her home in South London following the death of her 20-year-old daughter, Morgan Ribeiro.
Ribeiro had traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, on January 5, 2024, for a gastric sleeve operation. The procedure cost £2,500, a fraction of the estimated £8,000 to £10,000 cost in the UK. 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. Ribeiro died five days later, on January 13, 2024, from peritonitis caused by a ruptured intestinal wall, a complication likely resulting from the surgery.
The inquest into Ribeiro's death, initially set for May 27, was adjourned because the surgeon, Dr. Serkan Bayil, could not be located. The inquest eventually took place on September 4, but Ribeiro's father, Richard Ribeiro, stated it provided no closure or answers. "We've learned nothing," he said. "These people have got away with it scot-free. How can this be right?"
Gibson was found dead on May 29, two days after she was expected to attend the inquest. Her ex-husband, Richard Ribeiro, believes the stress and grief from their daughter's death and the subsequent struggle for accountability ultimately led to Gibson's death. "We lost Morgan and as a direct result, we lost Erin," he stated. "The impact on this family of what happened back in January 2024 has been immense."
Efforts to trace Dr. Bayil have been ongoing, with the assistant coroner noting that the surgeon had not responded to inquiries. A newspaper report from 2024 indicated that Dr. Bayil denied botching the surgery when contacted in Turkey. The agency that arranged Ribeiro's travel and surgery, Global Medical Care, was listed at an address in South London that turned out to be a derelict building. The agency stated it does not operate in the UK and expressed sadness over Ribeiro's death, noting they had ceased working with the surgeon and clinic involved.
Richard Ribeiro expressed frustration with the lack of accountability and the continued advertising of cheap surgeries abroad. "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 said, appealing for legal assistance to seek justice and advocate for regulations to prevent similar tragedies.