Bride-to-be tragically dies after surgery to look thinner for her wedding day

The impossible beauty standards that society heralds are very much alive and kicking. Pick up any magazine, or take a scroll through Instagram and you'll undoubtedly be faced with a slew of perfectly retouched, long-limbed gazelles who are always beach body ready, come rain or shine.

This is the kind of pressure that bride-to-be Jana Moreels was facing when she decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery so she would be able to fit into her wedding dress. The 25-year-old tragically passed away, however, after complications arose.

25-year-old Jana decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery because she felt uncomfortable with her body. She made the decision after she was left humiliated when she was forced off a funfair ride as the safety belt wouldn't fit.

The surgery was scheduled on the 17th October, just before she was due to choose her wedding dress for her impending nuptials.

Jana was permitted to leave the hospital two days after the surgery, but two weeks later she started feeling severe discomfort. "It was during that night that she began to have back pain," her parents, Christelle and Laurent, said. "We thought she just had taken it a bit too far with drinking. She took a Dafalgan (paracetamol)."

When the pain persisted, Jana went to see a doctor, but the tests carried out failed to detect anything. The young woman was rushed to hospital on the 8th of November.

New tests revealed that the bride-to-be was suffering from pulmonary embolism and pulmonary infarction - the death of a section of lung tissue caused by vascular obstruction.

Despite doctors' best efforts, Jana's health continued to deteriorate, and the 25-year-old fell into a coma due to liver failure.

Jana went into surgery for a transplant. However, the transplant liver was rejected by her body, which meant the doctors had to start all over again.

"Four days later the doctors also noticed a leak to the attachment of the gastric bypass which inflamed her abdominal cavity. Jana underwent a heavy surgery," her mother, Christelle explained. "On 23th November Jana got for the second time a new liver. Her body was however so weakened that she did not survive the surgery. At 2am at night we drove in all haste to the hospital. We were unable to say our final goodbyes."

It was an especially hard moment for Jana's parents, as on that day - Saturday the 24th November - their daughter was booked in to select her wedding dress.

"On 29th June she would marry. Everything was already arranged. She only needed to choose her dress," Christelle said. "Yet instead of choosing her wedding dress, we stood that day at her death bed."

Father, Laurent, felt the need to share Jana's story to warn people about the dangers of undergoing cosmetic surgery;

"It does not make sense to look for a culprit, we will never know what really happened and Jana will not come back. But we want people to think twice or even three times before they have surgery. Accept yourself the way you are and do not let society influence you."