Supermodel Anok Yai reveals congenital defect is ‘destroying’ her body as she undergoes robotic surgery

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Supermodel Anok Yai is revealing a frightening health issue she’s been privately dealing with.

The 28-year-old model, recently named Fashion Awards’ Model of the Year for 2025, announced on Friday that doctors have diagnosed her with a birth defect. She explained that this condition has been secretly causing problems with her health, putting a strain on her heart and damaging her lungs.

Anok recently shared that she’s been privately struggling with a serious health issue. She unexpectedly learned she was born with a heart defect that’s been putting a strain on her heart and gradually damaging her lungs, as she revealed in a post alongside photos and videos from her hospital stay.

She described how a minor issue rapidly worsened into scary symptoms.

For most of my life, I didn’t have any symptoms, but it gradually started with a cough that wouldn’t go away. It then developed into chest pain, coughing up blood, and eventually, difficulty breathing, she explained.

I used to believe I could overcome any challenge with hard work or speed, but life has a way of forcing you to slow down and re-evaluate things.

The model shared that she recently had a significant medical procedure, and she’s happy to report it went well.

She recently had successful robotic lung surgery and expressed her deep gratitude to Dr. Robert Cerfolio and his skilled team, saying they’ve given her more precious time.

According to the American Lung Association, robotic thoracic surgery is a minimally invasive technique doctors use to remove damaged lung tissue and nearby lymph nodes.

Anok expressed her gratitude to the doctors who diagnosed her condition early, preventing it from worsening.

She expressed her deep gratitude to Dr. Harmik Soukiasian and the team at Beverly Hills Concierge Health for diagnosing her condition.

I’m so grateful to the incredible doctors and nurses at NYU Langone. And a huge thank you to my friends and family for being there when I woke up – you were the first faces I saw!

Despite the ordeal, the supermodel made it clear she’s not slowing down for long.

‘For now I’m healing … but I’ll be back. See ya.’ 

Her health revelation comes just months after a separate, highly publicized moment in her career.

In December 2024, Anok requested the British Fashion Awards remove her from consideration for future awards following her loss to Alex Consani, a transgender model, in the Model of the Year category.

The model, who was born in Egypt and grew up in New Hampshire, shared on X (formerly Twitter) that she was feeling ‘exhausted’ with the fashion industry. She has since deleted the post.

The nominees that year were Alva Claire, Amelia Gray, Liu Wen, and Mona Tougaard, but Consani was the one who ultimately won the award.

Consani broke barriers earlier this year by becoming one of the first transgender models to appear in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Before the event, many people predicted Anok would win, pointing to her impressive career – she was only the second Black model, after Naomi Campbell, to ever lead a Prada fashion show.

Following her defeat, Anok shared a photo of Kanye West famously interrupting Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs, leading many to believe she was reacting to the results and felt overlooked by the British Fashion Council.

The model, who is of Sudanese descent, then publicly congratulated Consani on X (formerly Twitter) before speaking directly to the fashion organization.

In a now-deleted post, she expressed her love and pride for Alex, and stated she no longer wished to receive recognition from the British Fashion Council.

She went on to clarify that her frustration was not directed at her peer.

Honestly, seeing all the hard work Alex has been putting in, I’m just incredibly proud of her. Anok said it perfectly. It’s funny though, she can be rightfully proud of her accomplishments, and I can be completely worn out from cheering her on – both things are totally true at the same time!

‘It doesn’t take away how much love we have for each other.’

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2025-12-20 23:34