The
NY Times takes up the story of the Irish woman who
died after having plastic surgery in New York. Sad story, but one with a cautionary tale for the the Irish media.
Examining Mrs. Cregan's knapsack after her death, her family found a folded copy of an article from The Sunday Independent of Ireland. It was a glowing account of a face-lift performed by Dr. Sachs, "a leading cosmetic and facial reconstruction surgeon" in the United States, the article said, with a "highly confidential client list."
. . . Her journey from Ireland to a private operating room in Manhattan offers a cautionary tale about the ability of doctors with tarnished records to promote themselves to trusting patients and the news media's role in abetting these efforts.
The article goes on to explain how Dr. Sachs was featured in the
Irish Examiner and on
Ireland AM on TV3. Eventually Sachs agreed to do a free face-lift for an Irish woman in exchange for a front page article in the
Sunday Independent's magazine.
The result of his agreement with Mrs. Donaghy was a cover article in the Independent's Sunday magazine. "People have been stopping me on the street to tell me how good I look," Mrs. Donaghy was quoted as saying. "I'm having the time of my life." The article gave contact information and a Web site for Dr. Sachs but omitted any mention of the problems he faced.
"If this guy is fit to practice medicine in the United States, who are we to say he's not fit to practice?" said Brendan O'Connor, the editor of The Sunday Independent magazine. But Mr. O'Connor said last week he was unaware of the 33 lawsuits or the restrictions placed on Dr. Sachs by New York State health authorities.
This is especially damning:
Although Mrs. Cregan may not have had the expertise to decode Dr. Sachs's résumé, an Internet search might have revealed his inclusion in The Daily News's list of most sued doctors. A New York State-run Web site, www.NYDoctorProfile.com, lists medical malpractice judgments and disciplinary actions against doctors.
Whatever about Mrs. Cregan's internet search, I have to believe that there is someone in the
Sunday Independent (& the
Examiner and TV3) who could have unearthed this information.
