A wealthy social media influencer died after undergoing a cosmetic penis enlargement procedure while vacationing in Thailand with his wife, according to evidence presented at a London inquest.
Igho Ubiribo, 43, died after receiving injections containing 40 milliliters of hyaluronic acid and lidocaine at a clinic in Thailand in March. The British-Nigerian businessman had been traveling with his wife, Danielle Simba Allen, when he decided to undergo the procedure.
Ubiribo, who had roughly 185,000 followers on Instagram, spent much of his time at a $1.1 million property in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw neighborhood.
After leaving the clinic, Ubiribo and his wife went for a massage. During the massage, he began complaining of chest pain and lost consciousness twice, according to testimony presented at the inquest.
An ambulance was called, and Ubiribo was initially awake and able to answer questions while being transported to Sukhumvit Hospital in Bangkok.
Doctors at the hospital recommended a CT scan, but Ubiribo lost consciousness before the examination could be performed.
His wife informed medical staff that he had undergone the penile filler procedure earlier that day.
Doctors ultimately determined that Ubiribo was suffering from a pulmonary embolism, a potentially fatal condition that occurs when material blocks blood flow in the lungs.
Medical personnel attempted to save him, performing more than 100 minutes of CPR.
Ubiribo died during the early hours of March 6 despite those efforts.
A postmortem examination later conducted in the UK found evidence connecting the embolism to the cosmetic procedure.
Pathologist John du Parcq reported that cellular material found in Ubiribo’s lungs matched the hyaluronic acid used during the filler injection, findings that were consistent with a pulmonary embolism.
The findings also matched an autopsy conducted in Thailand.
Assistant coroner Jean Harkin ultimately recorded a narrative conclusion, determining that Ubiribo died as a result of a cosmetic procedure performed abroad.
“His death was caused by a pulmonary embolism as the result of an injection of hyaluronic acid into the penis,” Harkin said during the proceedings.
Ubiribo’s primary care physician told the inquest that the businessman had previously undergone joint surgery, was pre-diabetic and suffered from gout, but had no other known significant medical conditions.
The clinic that performed the procedure was not identified in the report.
Ubiribo and his wife had been staying at a Marriott hotel in Bangkok during the trip. In addition to his Los Angeles residence, the businessman reportedly owned a roughly $600,000 apartment in Shepherds Bush, West London, with Allen, a socialite and fashion designer.
The couple married in Zimbabwe in 2022 in a lavish ceremony reportedly costing approximately $473,000.
Ubiribo’s social media accounts regularly displayed the couple’s affluent lifestyle, including photographs of luxury vacations, designer clothing, Rolls-Royces and yachts.
He was later laid to rest in London in a gold coffin reportedly valued at more than $675,000. Among those attending his funeral were Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido, celebrity barman Cubana Chief Priest and Pastor Tobi Adegboyega.
Davido remembered his childhood friend as a man with tremendous energy and presence, saying Ubiribo’s death remained difficult to comprehend.
Hyaluronic acid fillers are sometimes used to temporarily increase penile girth. The substance is injected and then massaged to distribute it, with results typically lasting between six and nine months, according to the report.
The procedure can cost as much as $9,000 and has faced criticism from medical specialists.
The British Association of Urological Surgeons has warned about penile filler procedures, while medical professionals have described potentially severe complications.
Previous deaths have also been linked to penis enlargement treatments. A Swedish man died in 2017 after transferred fat reportedly caused an embolism, while billionaire Ehud Arye Laniado suffered a fatal heart attack during an enlargement injection treatment at a Paris clinic in 2019.
In Ubiribo’s case, the coroner directly attributed the fatal pulmonary embolism to the hyaluronic acid injection he received during the procedure.
