An Ohio plastic surgeon has had her state medical license revoked permanently after live-streaming surgeries on TikTok, three of which later resulted in complications.
Dr. Katharine Roxanne Grawe, aka “Dr. Roxy”, will no longer be able to practice medicine in Ohio, according to Jerica Stewart, the spokesperson for the Ohio State Medical Board.
It was also revealed that the board had suspended her medical license last November after reprimanding her twice, citing that her “continued practice presents a danger of serious harm to the public.”
Grawe, who owned a plastic surgery practice in Powell, spoke in front of the panel before board members voted at a hearing on Wednesday. She said she reflected on the criticism she received in the past year and admitted that she had “fallen below the board’s standard in several ways.”
She also said she posted videos to social media because she enjoyed teaching and wanted to share the world of cosmetic surgery with those outside the medical field. She has since called these videos “silly and unprofessional.”
Interacted with Viewers on TikTok During Surgeries
In a letter sent to her by the board, dated October 9, 2018, she was told she needed to maintain patient confidentiality when sharing pictures or videos of their medical procedures on social media.
Three years later, she was sent a second letter, which outlined additional concerns regarding lack of informed consent, ethical concerns related to social media and privacy, and avoidable complications that have arisen.
According to Dr. Yeshwand Reddy, who is on the board, at least one of her patients suffered an infection and severe damage to her abdomen, which will likely result in life-long complications.
Another patient was sent to the emergency room less than one week after being treated by ‘Dr. Roxy’ for a Brazilian butt lift. Medical staff found free air in her abdomen and determined that she was suffering from hepatic encephalopathy, a loss of brain function that occurs when toxins aren’t removed from the blood due to a damaged liver.
The patient was immediately transferred to another hospital, where she underwent exploratory surgery. It was then that surgeons discovered her bowel had been perforated, which led to a serious bacterial infection.
The patient ultimately required multiple procedures to remove dead tissue, as well as skin grafting.
In a board hearing in May, one member asked whether or not her “Dr. Roxy” persona on social media influenced her decisions about patient care.
Grawe claimed it didn’t and that “[she] had done many things to provide safety for them.” While she admitted it may have looked as if she cared more about posting on social media than her patients, she said “it was never like that.”
In the same hearing, she also testified that she interacted with viewers on TikTok who asked her questions during the operations.
She later clarified that someone else in the room would record and read the questions to her during the live stream while she performed the surgery, and that “[she] was just trying to do good by showing the surgeries to people.”
She also testified that she performed up to five surgeries per day and that she had done around 5,500 medical procedures over the past five years. She said she primarily performed procedures on the abdomen, breasts, thighs, buttocks, and arms.
During the hearing, she also discussed the criteria that she used before performing surgery, including the risks associated with the operation and the importance of each patient being evaluated by a primary care doctor.
According to board documents, she began to document her medical practices on social media in 2010. She graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch with her medical degree in 2015 and later became a board-certified plastic surgeon in 2014.
