Ohio
TikTok-famous plastic surgeon Dr. Roxy banned from practicing medicine in Ohio after live-streaming operations, allegedly harming patients
A TikTok-famous plastic surgeon had her Ohio medical license revoked Wednesday after she live-streamed surgeries — allegedly harming patients in the process.
The State Medical Board of Ohio voted to permanently revoke the medical license of Dr. Katharine Roxanne Grawe (aka Dr. Roxy) based on the TikTok doc’s “failure to meet standards of care.”
The board previously suspended Grawe’s license in November 2022, but Wednesday’s decision means that she will never be able to practice medicine in Ohio again.
Board members said Grawe focused her attention on her social media followers ahead of her actual patients — leading to life-altering mistakes.
In her videos, the doctor would speak directly to the camera, answering followers’ questions during live-streamed procedures while her patients were on the operating table.
One patient whose cosmetic procedure Grawe broadcasted to her more than 800,000 followers needed emergency care a week after surgery when Grawe reportedly perforated her intestine, according to a notice from the medical board delivered when her license was suspended.
The unidentified patient developed bacterial infections in her abdomen and loss of brain function from the amount of toxins in her blood, the notice states.
Two other patients also experienced devastating complications as a result of Grawe’s alleged lack of care, the board members said in the notice.
One patient who had a Brazilian Butt Lift and liposuction done by Grawe needed multiple surgeries on her stomach following the cosmetic procedures which caused severe abdominal pain the following day.
Grawe, who made her TikTok account private following her license suspension, received previous warnings from the board about her social media usage.
In 2018, the state board informed her it was concerned about patient privacy and ethics violations regarding her recorded surgeries. In 2021, the board secretary recommended the plastic surgeon take a class about professionalism and ethics in the medical field.
Grawe completed classes including “ethical social media” in December of that year but continued to stream surgeries she performed on patients live for her followers through October 2022, according to the New York Times.
Ahead of the board’s vote Wednesday, the social media influencer surgeon said her husband had left her due to the stress of the situation and that her children had been harassed at school because of the media attention, the newspaper reported.
She said she wanted to educate her followers about cosmetic surgery through her videos.
“But, as I stand here today, I see how many of those videos appeared silly and unprofessional,” she added, according to the Times.
With Post wires.