- A Colorado plastic surgeon was charged following the death of a teen patient
- Dr. Geoffrey Kim, 52, was charged with aggravated assault and criminally negligent homicide.
- The patient "went into cardiac arrest after being administered anesthesia" during breast augmentation procedure.
A Colorado plastic surgeon is facing charges stemming from the death of an 18-year-old patient following a breast augmentation procedure in 2019.
According to Arapahoe County Sherriff's Office, 52-year-old Dr. Geoffrey Kim turned himself in on Wednesday and was charged with criminally negligent homicide and first-degree aggravated assault. The surgeon was booked and bonded out the same day.
In addition, nurse anesthetist, Rex Meeker, was charged with manslaughter. The criminal charges come after authorities conducted an investigation for more than two years, officials said.
"Our hope is that this will be the beginning of bringing justice and a sense of closure to Emmalyn's family," Arapahoe County Sherriff's Office Captain of Investigations, Travis Stewart said in a statement.
In August 2019 the teen, identified as Emmalyn Nguyen, went to Colorado Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery for the procedure, according to officials, and "went into cardiac arrest after being administered anesthesia." Nguyen was in a coma and suffered brain damage before she died 14 months later, according to KCNC-TV.
As NBC News reported Nguyen's family filed a lawsuit in 2019 claiming that she was "unobserved" by Kim and Meeker for 15 minutes after being placed under anesthesia. Per the outlet citing the lawsuit, her skin turned blue and Nguyen went into cardiac arrest.
The lawsuit said that first responders were not called to take Nguyen to the hospital until five hours later, according to the report.
Nguyen's family released a statement through their lawyer, saying that they're " glad we are finally getting justice for Emmalyn," KCNC-TV reported.
The statement continued: "Even though it will never bring our daughter back, at least this will help others from getting hurt and prevent ruining other families' lives. 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," according to the news station.