Being a plus-sized woman is such a complicated issue. I’ve been fat my entire life; I’ve been through phases where I’ve both hated and loved myself. But the hardest thing about being fat is the way the world treats you. I am often looked at and regarded as less than. I’ve had experiences from people audibly groaning if the last open seat on a train was next to me, to being told I should “delete” myself for merely existing. The truth is, I struggle with a lot of hormonal and genetic issues that make losing weight “naturally” extremely hard.
Still, for the most part, I am happy with who I am. I can also completely understand why plus-size people seek more extreme weight-loss options, like bariatric surgery, which is an invasive procedure that alters the digestive system.
In the UK, 20-year-old Morgan Ribeiro, sought surgery to help manage her weight.
In the US, weight-loss surgery runs up to $26,000 without insurance. Across the pond in the UK, it generally costs between $6,700 and $20,000. So, it is also understandable why she would seek surgery in a country like Turkey, where costs run about $3,400. According to the LAD Bible, Ribeiro flew out to Turkey for her own surgery on January 5, 2024, in hopes of beginning a new chapter in her life. Tragically, she never made it home.
While it is revolutionary and has helped many people, weight-loss surgery is not without its risks. Though the number is very low, a study indicated that there were 39 deaths among 891 patients over the course of 12 years related to complications from the surgery.
But Ribeiro’s death from the popular surgery, even two years later, is still a mystery to her family.
Despite getting the clearance to travel home, while on her flight, Ribeiro became “very unwell.” The plane, bound for Gatwick Airport, had to make an emergency landing in Belgrade, Serbia, where she was rushed to the intensive care unit and sadly died on January 13, 2024.
According to an autopsy, she suffered “diffuse inflammation of the retroperitoneum” and the “rupture of the intestinal wall.” Officials believe doctors punctured her small intestine, which led to a fatal infection.
However, on May 27, 2026, Assistant Coroner Laura Stephenson testified during an inquest that she was unable to confirm Ribeiro’s cause of death since Ribeiro’s surgeon, Dr. Serkan Bayil, refused to respond to repeated requests for information.
“I am not making findings of fact now as to whether that [the Serbian post-mortem] is correct, but clearly the evidence I have now is that I need to know more about the surgery,” Stephenson said, according to the outlet.
Oddly, the surgeon had made comments to the media previously regarding her death.
@m0rg4n.m4ri4 My surgery date is 5/1/24 IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW MY JOURNEY IVE TAGGED MY WLS ACCOUNT ❤️
♬ Confidence (sped up version) – Ocean Alley
Bayil told the Mirror in 2024, “I am sad, so, so sad. She was so young I wish that this had never happened, it is the first time in my career. Two others from England that had the same surgery are very happy with it. But in surgery there are always complications, always risk. I would say it is safe to come to Turkey, this is just a tragic incident.”
He continued, “[Ribeiro’s] vital signs were good when she left us. The most fearful thing in these operations is leakage and she had zero leakage and because of this I think she had an embolism.”
The next hearing will happen on August 28, 2026, and will conclude with or without the doctor’s cooperation.
“I have waited two years for this,” Rich Ribeiro, the young woman’s father, said to reporters after the hearing. “I’ll wait as long as it takes. I want to know whether it was malpractice or not.”
