Husband: ‘ill-fated surgery a surprise for me’

THE husband of Kay Cregan believes his wife underwent the plastic surgery that led to her death as a surprise for him.

However, Liam Cregan said his 42-year-old wife didn't need the surgery.

"The picture tells the story. She was really loved," Mr Cregan told the New York Daily News.

"She was an Irish working mother who had a good job at City Hall, and she loved her two children."

The mother-of-two from Croom, Co Limerick, went into cardiac arrest after a nose job and face-lift in New York and died two days later on St Patrick's Day.

Mr Cregan did not know that his wife had flown to New York for the surgery, which she had kept secret from all the family. He said he was still in shock over the loss of his wife of almost 10 years. "It's like a nightmare I keep thinking I'm going to wake up," he said. The family had been looking forward to eight-year-old Brian's First Communion in May and a family holiday in France in August.

Mr Cregan said he had great support from neighbours and friends and from his parents who live next door to his home in Croom. "My priority is the two boys. I have to protect my family. We're devastated."

Kay's mother, Kathleen Kelly, has also spoken out about her devastation at her daughter's tragic death.

"I cannot believe this has happened to Kay. My heart is broken," she told the News of the World.

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the New York plastic surgeon who operated on Kay said her death was likely to have been caused by a heart condition.

It emerged last week that Dr Sachs was one of the most sued doctors in New York and had made 33 malpractice payments in the last decade. He had admitted at least two counts of negligence on a patient he had earlier treated.

However, Jay Butterman said his client, Dr Michael Sachs, was the victim of an unfair campaign by the New York Daily News and was not responsible for Kay Cregan's death.

"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.

Dr Sachs had been targeting the Irish market. He appeared on TV3's Ireland AM show last November and gave a Carlow-woman Helen Donaghy $25,000 worth of cosmetic surgery for free as long as she went public about it in the Sunday Independent.

The death of Mrs Cregan is under investigation by the New York Department of Health, but may take several months to conclude.