The death of Irish woman Kay Cregan in New York after plastic surgery is being investigated by the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) of the New York State Department of Health.
"We are aware of the case. We are investigating the patient's death at St Luke's," a spokesman at the OPMC, which is located in Albany, New York, told The Irish Times.
"We investigate any case of unexpected patient's death; any case where death is abnormal."
Ms Cregan, of Skagh, Croom, Co Limerick, died on March 17th, three days after she had minor facial cosmetic surgery in a New York clinic. She was pronounced dead on Thursday at St Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, Manhattan.
A spokesman at St Luke's Roosevelt Hospital said Ms Cregan was admitted from a doctor's surgery in New York, but under US medical regulations he was not permitted to give details.
Asked what type of cases were reported to the OPMC, the spokesman said: "We would report any kind of case that would involve 'adverse outcome'."
Deaths from cosmetic surgery are extremely rare, amounting to an estimated one in every 50,000 cases, according to doctors.
On Thursday NBC Dateline broadcast an investigation of cheap cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic, where Maria Morel, a mother of three from New Jersey, died recently after an operation for a tummy tuck.