Anok Yai has shared that she underwent surgery after discovering she had a congenital defect that was “slowly destroying” her lungs and “overworking” her heart. While many were preparing for Christmas, the 28-year-old model took to Instagram on December 19th to open up about the “silent battle” and shared several clips of her recovery in the hospital.
Anok underwent surgery for the condition because her health began to worsen, experiencing horrible symptoms. Her post caption read, “For the past year, I’ve been dealing with this silent battle. I incidentally found out I had a Congenital defect overworking my heart and slowly destroying my lungs. What started as something asymptomatic for the majority of my life turned into a lingering cough, which turned to chest pains, bouts of coughing up blood, then at times struggling to breathe.”
Explaining why she kept working through the ordeal, she continued: “I chose to work through this while trying to find the right doctor and the right time. I quickly realized there was never going to be a ‘right time’ – my health would continue to worsen. I’ve always thought I could outwork or outrun anything, but the universe has a way of slowing you down and waking you up.”
Anok then revealed she had undergone surgery and thanked her doctors for their care, writing: “So yesterday I had a successful Robotic Lung Surgery thanks to Dr. Robert Cerfolio and his gracious and talented team who I am forever indebted to for giving me more time.”
Anok will be “forever grateful” for her medical team and those around her who have shown or offered her care and support. She added, “And I am forever grateful for Dr. Harmik Soukiasian and everyone at the @beverlyhillsconciergehealth for discovering my condition. Thank you to all the doctors and amazing nurses at @nyulangone. And thank you to my friends and family for being the first thing I saw when I woke up.”
"For now I’m healing … but I’ll be back. See ya ❤️"
The beautiful model, who has graced the covers of i-D and Vogue several times, had the surgery just weeks after being crowned Model of the Year at the 2025 Fashion Awards in London. Speaking of receiving the title, Anok said, “Being named Model of the Year is such an honor.”
“My journey from Egypt to South Sudan to the US is one of resilience and community. This recognition is for everyone who’s ever seen their story in mine. Thank you for celebrating us.”