Geoffrey Kim: Colorado plastic surgeon faces manslaughter charges after teen's botched surgery death
Colorado plastic surgeon Dr Geoffrey Kim was charged with first-degree serious assault and criminally negligent homicide for the death of patient Emmalyn Nguyen, 18. Emmalyn Nguyen underwent breast augmentation surgery at Colorado Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery hospital.
She was given anesthesia by anesthetist Rex Meeker for the procedure and had a cardiac arrest after that. She went into coma and 14 months later died, said Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. According to a lawsuit filed by the girl’s family, she was left unattended for about 15 minutes after she was given anesthesia.
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The lawsuit detailed Nguyen's "lips and face were blue" when she went into cardiac arrest. She was also given reversal medication. She was rushed to Littleton Adventist Hospital, where she was declared to have severe anoxic brain injury due to the prolonged cardiac arrest.
Investigations revealed that the surgeon did not 911 for at least five hours of the incident and the girl was left brain dead, she went into coma and was unable to speak or walk.
A Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney Lou Shapiro said that medical doctor usually does not face criminal charges over patient care, Kim’s case is highly “disturbing.” “The more a doctor deviates from the norm, the more likely he will be prosecuted,” Shapiro said.
He further added, “The last high profile case we saw where that occurred was Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s doctor. That was proven to be egregiously dangerous treatment.”
In a statement Travis Stewart, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Captain of Investigations said, “The investigation has taken more than two years to complete and involved dozens of interviews and search warrants.” He added, “Our hope is that this will be the beginning of bringing justice and a sense of closure to Emmalyn’s family.”
“We opened this criminal case in August 2019. The investigation has taken more than two years to complete and involved dozens of interviews and search warrants. Our hope is that this will be the beginning of bringing justice and a sense of closure to Emmalyn’s family, “Travis Stewart added.