A LAWYER representing the New York plastic surgeon who operated on Kay Cregan has claimed her death was likely to have been caused by a heart condition.

Although tests to determine the exact cause of death have yet to be concluded, the lawyer believes the 42-year-old suffered from arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat.

Jay Butterman, a lawyer for Michael Sachs, said the irregular heartbeat had not been detected before Cregan had surgery at Sachs’s clinic, despite a full and correct medical examination and an investigation of her medical history. While he was unable to outline the exact nature of the tests carried out before Cregan’s operation, Butterman insisted they were adequate.

Cregan died three days after minor facial surgery at Sach’s clinic in New York and her case has raised questions about the competence of the controversial doctor who treated her.

Her family could not be reached for comment yesterday in response to Butterman’s claims, which are unsubstantiated. An autopsy on March 18 was inconclusive, while New York’s health department is still examining the circumstances surrounding Cregan’s death and checking that all appropriate steps were taken to care for her.

One area of investigation will be whether Cregan’s death was related to the anaesthetic administered before the operation. Authorities will also look at whether enough was done to determine Cregan’s state of health prior to her operation.

Butterman defended Sach’s record and has claimed that the plastic surgeon, dubbed Dr Botch by some Irish newspapers, is the victim of an unfair campaign by the New York Daily News. It has reported that 33 malpractice claims have been taken against Sachs. It also highlighted medical authorities’ decision that Sachs should not do complex nose operations without supervision.

Butterman agrees that Sachs has been the subject of 33 malpractice claims, but says he is in a line of work that attracts a lot of legal suits.

“The Daily News has reported that the number of claims is high compared with other doctors. But Dr Sachs does a particular type of medical work that has a high rate of malpractice claims and the Daily News is ranking him with doctors who work in different fields where they are less likely to be sued,” he said.

Many of Sachs’s clients are said to have been people who wanted a second operation after their first, by another doctor, was not successful. These so-called revisionist cases were more difficult than ordinary treatments and Sachs was one of the few doctors who would take them on, his lawyer said. The surgeon is now prevented from doing so by medical authorities and Butterman claimed this “was a pity, because no one else will do them for people”.

“We are suing the Daily News because of an editorial it wrote saying Dr Sachs should not be allowed to practice,” said Butterman. “He has done more than 30,000 operations and just 33 of these have led to claims in a medical field where such malpractice rates are common.” He denied reports that Sachs is now in hiding.

“It will be a number of weeks before the facts of this case come out but we are stating now that Dr Sachs was not responsible for this woman’s tragic death,” he said.

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