A Colorado plastic surgeon whose teenage patient died during a botched breast augmentation procedure has been sentenced to just 15 days in jail.
Dr. Geoffrey Kim, 54, admitted he didn’t call 911 for five hours after then-18-year-old Emmalyn Nguyen turned blue and suffered a heart attack while receiving the necessary anesthesia seven times from nurse Rex Meeker on August 1. 2019.
A jury found Dr. Kim guilty of attempted reckless manslaughter and obstructing a telephone after failing to call for help – but acquitted him of the most serious charge: negligent homicide.
The surgeon faced a prison sentence of up to three years, but on Thursday he was sentenced to just 15 days behind bars, followed by two years of probation.
According to Arapahoe County Court records, Kim was ordered to pay a $70,000 fine while completing 120 hours of community service at a facility for people with brain injuries.
Dr. Geoffrey Kim (pictured) admitted he didn’t call 911 for five hours after then-18-year-old Emmalyn Nguyen turned blue and suffered a heart attack while receiving the necessary anesthesia from nurse Rex Meeker seven times on August 1. 2019
Nguyen was left brain dead and unable to talk or walk after surgery, and died 14 months later
The family attorney, David Woodruff, said Emmalyn “was left unnoticed. No one looked at her for about 15 minutes. A nurse enters the room and finds her blue
Both Kim and Meeker must pay the Nguyen family $1 million each in a wrongful death settlement.
Kim’s defense team blamed anesthesiologist Meeker for Nguyen’s death, claiming he gave her a toxic mixture of drugs before the surgery, including enough fentanyl to stop her heart, according to the Denver Post.
Meeker was initially charged with manslaughter, but dropped it in exchange for testimony at trial, according to 9news.
Last week, he claimed Kim wouldn’t let him call 911 for more than five hours, KDVR reported.
Both Kim and Meeker have already been forced to pay the Nguyen family $1 million each in a wrongful death settlement.
Meeker has given up his license to administer anesthesia, but still has his medical license.
Nguyen was left brain dead and unable to talk or walk after surgery, and died 14 months later.
Her parents, Lynn Fam and Sonny Nguyen, told KDVR in December 2019 that their daughter wanted breast implants to boost her self-image after graduating high school.
Kim admitted he didn’t call 911 for five hours after Emmalyn Nguyen (pictured) went into cardiac arrest while being given anesthesia
Emmalyn’s (pictured) brain injury left her unable to walk, talk or feed herself and requiring 24-hour care. She showed signs of progress before she died
Emmalyn (in bed) is pictured at the nursing home with her parents, Lynn Fam (right) and Sonny Nguyen (left). She was fed through a tube and connected to an oxygen machine to breathe
The teen, who was 18 at the time, had saved $6,000 for the surgery and was said to be in good health.
The family attorney, David Woodruff, said Emmalyn “was left unnoticed. No one looked at her for about 15 minutes. A nurse comes into the room and finds her blue.”
During the more than five hours that Emmalyn was on the operating table, Woodruff said her mother, Lynn, sat in the waiting room, unaware of her daughter’s condition.
Lynn told the news station that at one point the doctor came out to tell her she wouldn’t be able to check on her daughter.
“She’s doing well and she’s young, maybe that’s why she’s taking longer to wake up,” Lynn told her.
Woodruff said that when medics arrived, they used CPR to revive Emmalyn, but she did not regain consciousness.
Her brain injury left her unable to talk, walk or feed herself, so she was placed in a nursing home where she received 24-hour care. She had to be fed through a tube and have an oxygen machine breathe for her.
Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Travis Stewart told the New York Post: “The investigation spanned more than two years and included dozens of interviews and search warrants.
Kim’s defense team blamed anesthesiologist Rex Meeker (pictured) for Nguyen’s death, claiming he gave her a toxic mixture of drugs before surgery, including enough fentanyl to stop her heart. Meeker testified against Kim at the trial
“Our hope is that this will be the beginning of bringing justice and a sense of belonging to Emmalyn’s family.”
Prior to her death, Woodruff said Emmalyn was showing signs of progress, could smile occasionally and was medically stable, CBS Denver reported.
The family said Meeker failed to properly administer Emmalyn’s anesthesia and subsequently failed to monitor her condition. Kim is said to have attempted resuscitation in the meantime.
On the final 911 call, Meeker can be heard saying, “She’s not conscious. We evaluated her. We estimate a Glasgow score of 6 or 7.’
Anywhere between three and eight on the Glasgow scale indicates that a patient is in a coma.
Colorado state records before Emmalyn’s case showed that Kim had not previously taken disciplinary action against him.
Meeker was allegedly charged in 2009 after a woman he sedated suffered brain damage and died while undergoing breast implant surgery. The case was settled in 2012.