Plastic surgeon sentenced to 15 days in jail in Colorado teen patient’s death

Emmalyn Nguyen suffered cardiac arrest after receiving anesthesia and while Dr. Geoffrey Kim resuscitated her with CPR, he did not call for emergency help for five hours.

A Colorado plastic surgeon convicted of attempted reckless manslaughter in the death of a 19-year-old patient was sentenced to 15 days in jail, community service and a fine in Arapahoe County District Court on Thursday.

Dr. Geoffrey Kim, 54, faced a maximum of three years in prison for the death of Brighton teenager Emmalyn Nguyen, who went to Kim’s clinic in Greenwood Village for a breast augmentation surgery in August 2019, when she was 18.

Nguyen suffered cardiac arrest after receiving anesthesia and while Kim resuscitated her with CPR, he did not call for emergency help for five hours even though she needed immediate care at a hospital, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Nguyen fell into a coma and died 14 months later, in October 2020.

Kim was also found guilty of obstruction of telephone service after he refused to allow medical professionals to call 911 during the incident.

He was sentenced to 15 days in jail, two years of probation, 120 hours of community service and must pay a $50,000 fine.