In December 2019, we shared that the parents of a 18-year-old girl had filed a lawsuit against a Colorado plastic surgeon after their daughter was left in a coma from breast surgery. In October 2020, the teen patient died and as of June 2023, the plastic surgeon has been convicted of attempted manslaughter, facing up to three years in prison.
After a weeklong trial, the surgeon, Dr. Geoffrey Kim, was found guilty of attempted reckless manslaughter and obstructing telephone services. It is reported that after the teen patient, Emmalyn Nguyen, went into cardiac arrest and slipped into a coma during breast surgery, Dr. Kim refused to allow his staff to dial 911 for five hours. Additionally, it is added that Dr. Kim was acquitted of negligent homicide, the most serious charge against him.
RELATED: Parents File Lawsuit Against Doctor & Nurse After Daughter Is Left In Coma From Breast Surgery
On August 1, 2019, Nguyen, who was 18 years old at the time of her breast augmentation operation, visited Dr. Kim’s office at Colorado Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery, where she was administered anesthesia. Her nurse anesthetist Rex Meeker gave the teen patient seven times the typical dose. It is said that this is a practice known as “snowing,” and it puts the patients under more quickly.
Following the extreme dose, Nguyen lost consciousness and then went into cardiac arrest before Dr. Kim could even make one incision. Per the family’s attorney, David Woodruff, “snowing” is not illegal or uncommon; however, he claims an error was made when no one in the operating room noticed that she was in distress until after her heart stopped beating for nearly seven minutes.
According to Meeker, Nguyen’s nurse anesthetist, he and other staff insisted on calling 911, but claimed that Dr. Kim refused. In an Arapahoe County District Court, Meeker testified, “We should send her to the hospital, and I added it’s standard operating procedure.” Being that Meeker offered his testimony in cooperation against Dr. Kim, charges against him were dismissed. However, the Dr. Kim’s lawyers argued at trial that Meeker was the one responsible for Nguyen’s death, not Dr. Kim who delayed the 911 call.
RELATED: UPDATE: 19-Year-Old Left In A 14-Month Coma After Botched Breast Surgery Dies
Per Woodruff, the team in the operating room were able to get the teen patient’s heart beating after it had stopped for nearly seven minutes; however, her brain had already suffered severe damage from the lack of oxygen it needed. He said, “It was obviously a huge mistake by Mr. Meeker to overdose the child.”
Woodruff also recalled how when Nguyen’s mother arrived to the office to pick her daughter up, Dr. Kim insisted that the surgery went fine and that she should not worry. Woodruff said, “Hours passed and Dr. Kim kept coming out and telling her mom everything went fine, she’s doing great, but she’s taking a little longer than usual to wake up.”
When the Colorado plastic surgeon finally called for help, it was only after Nguyen’s mother demanded to see her. Woodruff proclaimed, “The huge travesty here is the location of this office is in a parking lot shared by a fire department, and the EMTs could have been there in 45 seconds to a minute.”
Woodruff added that by time the teen arrived to the hospital, there was nothing that could be done to save her. After more than a year of being in a vegetative state, Nguyen, who had then turned 19, passed away. Following her passing, her family sued Dr. Kim, Meeker, and the practice, and they have since settled for $3 million.
It is reported that up until his criminal trial Dr. Kim, who only temporarily had his license suspended after his teen patient’s death, continued to perform surgeries. Woodruff claimed that following the Colorado plastic surgeon’s felony conviction of attempted manslaughter, he should eventually have his license entirely revoked. Meanwhile, after the fatal incident, Meeker gave up his license to practice.
RELATED: Priyanka Chopra Reveals A Botched Nose Surgery Sent Her Into A ‘Deep Depression’ That Nearly Derailed Her Acting Career Before It Started
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!