A British-Nigerian businessman and social media personality died in Bangkok after a penis enlargement procedure, a London coroner ruled, finding that hyaluronic acid injected during the treatment caused a fatal pulmonary embolism.
Igho Ubiribo, 43, also known as Tiny, Denisi or Ego, received 40 milliliters of hyaluronic acid and lidocaine at an unnamed clinic in Thailand in March while on vacation with his wife, Danielle Simba Allen, according to an inquest at Inner West London Coroners’ Court. The couple was staying at a Marriott hotel in Bangkok.
After the injections, they went for a massage. Ubiribo complained of chest pain and fainted twice, the court heard. An ambulance took him to Sukhumvit Hospital, where he was initially able to answer questions. Allen told doctors about the filler procedure. He lost consciousness before a recommended CT scan could be completed.
Doctors diagnosed a pulmonary embolism — a blockage in a lung blood vessel — and moved him to intensive care. Medics performed CPR for more than 100 minutes. Ubiribo died in the early hours of March 6, hospital testimony showed. Dr. Thongchai Chansirirattingkul of Sukhumvit Hospital told the inquest Ubiribo had two episodes of syncope during the massage after the 40-milliliter penile filler injections earlier that day.
A U.K. postmortem by pathologist John du Parcq found cellular material in Ubiribo’s lungs that matched the hyaluronic acid used in the injection, consistent with the Thai autopsy findings, the court was told. Assistant coroner Jean Harkin recorded a narrative conclusion: Ubiribo “died as the result of a cosmetic procedure abroad. His death was caused by a pulmonary embolism as the result of an injection of hyaluronic acid into the penis.” She offered condolences to Allen.
Ubiribo’s London primary care doctor said he had undergone joint surgery, was pre-diabetic and had gout, but had no other significant medical problems on record. The Thai clinic was not named in the published accounts of the inquest.
Ubiribo had about 185,000 Instagram followers and was known for a high-profile lifestyle. Reports cited a $1.1 million home in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw neighborhood and a $600,000 apartment in London’s Shepherd’s Bush. He and Allen, a fashion designer and socialite, married in a ceremony in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 2022 that was reported to have cost about $473,000. He was later buried in London in a gold coffin reported to have cost more than $745,000. Mourners included Nigerian singer Davido and nightlife figure Cubana Chief Priest. Davido had publicly described Ubiribo as a close associate.
Hyaluronic acid penis fillers are marketed as a temporary cosmetic option, typically lasting six to nine months, with advertised prices that can run into several thousand dollars. British urology specialists have previously warned that filler injections in that area can produce serious complications, including vascular events. Medical literature has separately documented rare but fatal non-thrombotic pulmonary embolisms after hyaluronic acid injections in other highly vascular tissues. The coroner’s finding in this case tied the death specifically to the penile injection, not to a conventional blood clot formed independently of the filler.
Ubiribo’s death was publicly mourned in March. The London inquest, reported this week, is what established the official medical cause. The clinic that performed the procedure has not been publicly identified in the coverage of the hearing.
