Colorado plastic surgeon charged after death of breast implant patient, 18

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A Colorado plastic surgeon who lost an 18-year-old patient during a breast augmentation procedure is behind bars outside Denver on charges of aggravated assault and criminally negligent homicide.

Dr. Geoffrey Kim, 52, surrendered to deputies Wednesday following an arrest warrant issued years after the botched surgery in August 2019, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.

 "It is very rare for a prosecutor to bring criminal charges against health care providers," said David Woodruff, an attorney for patient Emmalyn Nguyen’s family. "I applaud the district attorney’s courage and tenacity in this investigation and in bringing these charges."

Emmalyn Nguyen, left, was 18 when she went into a coma and died after saving up thousands of dollars for breast implants from Dr. Geoffrey Kim. (Emmalyn Nguyen's Family/Arapahoe County Sheriff)

COLORADO WOMAN, 18, SEVERELY BRAIN-DAMAGED AFTER BREAST IMPLANT SURGERY GONE WRONG, FAMILY SAYS

Kim and Rex Meeker, a nurse who has been charged with manslaughter in Nguyen’s death, allegedly overdosed Nguyen through a method called "snowing" in an attempt to get her under anesthesia more quickly.

"Snowed" means "sedated," according to Woodruff. 

"In the context of surgery and anesthesia, it means to give a larger dose of anesthesia than the patient would normally get, in relation to age and weight," he told Fox News Digital. "It puts the patient to sleep much faster, but also greatly increases the risk that they will stop breathing."

Nguyen did stop breathing – and no one noticed until another nurse came in several minutes later, according to a lawsuit filed in December 2019. The second nurse found her with her face turned blue and in cardiac arrest.

They began CPR – but Kim allegedly prevented his staff from calling 911 for help for more than five hours – and allegedly told the young woman’s mother she was doing "fine." The surgery was supposed to take two hours.

"I just had kind of a weird feeling," Nguyen’s mother, Lynn Fam, told reporters after filing the lawsuit.

She alleged that Kim’s staff misled her for hours.

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"The treatment for a brain injury is to cool the brain within 6 hours to reduce swelling," Woodruff said. "By preventing calls to 911 and delaying treatment for 6 hours, they caused her brain injury to be much more severe."

There was a firehouse in the same parking lot that could have provided help within moments.

Nguyen, who reportedly saved up $6,000 for the surgery, went into a coma and died 14 months later.

Through their attorney, Nguyen’s relatives released a statement saying that they hope the criminal case will bring forth an explanation and closure.

"We are glad we are finally getting justice for Emmalyn. Even though it will never bring our daughter back, at least this will help others from getting hurt and prevent ruining other families’ lives," they said. "We still haven’t been able to get closure from Emmalyn’s death. Hopefully bringing criminal charges will bring out the truth about what happened and will bring justice for Emmalyn."

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Travis Stewart, the Arapahoe sheriff’s captain of investigations, said in a statement that the criminal investigation opened shortly after the failed surgery and involved dozens of interviews and search warrants.

Kim has been released on bond.

Authorities said the investigation remained open and active.