Istanbul, March 1, 2026 – Sibel Yiyin, a 42-year-old woman, has been laid to rest following her death after a facelift surgery at a private hospital in Esenyurt, Istanbul. The incident, which occurred on Friday, February 27, has raised questions and concerns among her family and neighbors regarding the medical procedure and the hospital’s conduct.
Funeral Held Amidst Grief and Questions
The funeral ceremony for Sibel Yiyin took place at Beylikdüzü Mevlana Mosque after the noon prayer. Her family and loved ones gathered to pay their last respects before her body was taken to Güzelce Yeni Cemetery for burial. The atmosphere was somber, marked by profound grief and an underlying sense of unanswered questions about the circumstances of her untimely death.
Neighbor Alleges Hospital Staff’s Suspicious Behavior
Seda Çırak, a neighbor of Sibel Yiyin, shared a disturbing account of events following Yiyin’s death. Çırak claims that two male representatives from the hospital visited their residential complex around 8:00 PM on the day of Yiyin’s passing, actively searching for her relatives. According to Çırak, these individuals appeared visibly nervous and expressed concerns about the situation.
“We saw Sibel leave the house at noon, but we didn’t know she was going to the hospital,” Çırak recounted. “After breaking the fast with other women in the complex, around 8:00 PM, two gentlemen arrived. A friend came to us and said, ‘They are asking about Sibel. They want to know if she has any relatives because she is in the hospital.'”
Çırak further stated that when she and other neighbors questioned why the hospital representatives were searching for relatives at their complex instead of contacting the police, the men allegedly admitted to not having Sibel Yiyin’s phone number and claimed her phone was locked. “They said, ‘We don’t know her password.’ It seems they didn’t collect her family’s contact information before the surgery. Afterwards, they said, ‘What are we going to do? This is going to fall on us.'” Çırak added that about an hour later, she was informed that two family members had arrived at the hospital, and ten minutes after that, they received the news of Yiyin’s death.
Father Suspects Medical Negligence
Murat Yiyin, Sibel Yiyin’s grieving father, spoke out about the events leading to his daughter’s death, expressing strong suspicions of medical negligence. He detailed the sequence of events from when the hospital contacted his son, to the doctors’ explanation of what transpired.
“The hospital management, unable to get results from here, contacted the police. The police found my son’s number and told him,” Murat Yiyin explained. “We went to the hospital around 8:30 PM – 9:00 PM. They told us to ‘wait, information will be given.’ A doctor and an anesthesiologist came. The doctor told us, ‘Sibel’s surgery was successful. After she came out of surgery, we took her to the ward. But then, she suddenly felt unwell. She started having respiratory distress, and we took her to intensive care, but she had a heart attack. We couldn’t revive her.'”
Murat Yiyin questioned the doctor’s explanation, stating, “What happened in the end? She passed away. How does a person die during aesthetic surgery? What did you do that caused her to die? We have that conviction. They perform the second surgery with the information from the first surgery. My daughter died as a result of them giving her anesthesia again within 10 days, before the anesthesia from the first surgery had left her body. We are convinced of this.” The family believes that the repeated administration of anesthesia in a short period might have played a crucial role in her death.
Investigation Expected to Follow
The family’s allegations and the unusual circumstances surrounding Sibel Yiyin’s death are expected to prompt a thorough investigation into the medical procedures and the hospital’s protocols. The incident has highlighted concerns about patient safety and the importance of comprehensive pre-operative assessments and communication with family members, especially in elective surgeries.
As the community mourns the loss of Sibel Yiyin, her family seeks answers and justice, hoping to shed light on the events that led to her tragic passing after what was intended to be a routine aesthetic procedure. The case is likely to draw significant attention to medical practices in aesthetic surgery and the rights of patients and their families.
