On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, an Ohio plastic surgeon known as Dr. Roxy had her medical license permanently revoked for livestreaming her surgery on TikTok. The doctor’s license was initially suspended on November 18, 2022, when the Ohio Medical Board discovered she was breaking normal operating practices.
According to the board, the doctor, whose real name is Katharine Roxanne Grawe “neglected her patients while she live-streamed parts of their procedures, spoke into a camera, and answered viewer questions.” During the hearing, a state board member stated:
“We’ve seen an extreme lack of professionalism. Her posts (are) done as a marketing ploy. In the video, you can see her looking at the camera and not paying attention to the patient.”
Dr. Roxy received patient privacy warnings from the board in 2018
Dr. Roxy rose to prominence after posting funny dances in her scrubs on TikTok. On the app, she has over 800,000 followers and 14.6 million likes. Many of her patients found her through her social media posts. Grawe was a Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, according to LinkedIn. Her business was based in Powell, Ohio, and she specialized in “cosmetic surgery of the face, breast, and body.” Concerns about Grawe’s practice were raised by the state medical board as early as October 2018, when they advised her “regarding the need to maintain patient privacy when sharing photos or video via social media.”
A second warning was issued in September 2021, citing ethics and patient privacy. It also mentioned “avoidable complications” that required additional surgeries for some patients. At the time. Dr. Roxy had to undergo courses in professionalism and ethics and had to retrain for “procedures where her patients suffered complications.”
Her negligence leads to patient harm and lawsuits
Despite the training and courses, she stuck to her old methods. The board identified three patients who had filed lawsuits against her while building their case against her. While revoking her license, they stated that they had “clear and convincing” evidence that the plastic surgeon’s work ethic posed “a danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.” The board discussed one of the occasions in which she was asked to execute a liposuction technique that required her undivided attention. Dr. Roxy’s live-streaming put her patient in danger at the time.
She failed to provide the patient with post-procedure advice for managing pain and other potential problems. Five days later, the patient was transported to the hospital after it was discovered that she had free air in her belly and was suffering from hepatic encephalopathy, a condition in which the liver fails to eliminate toxins, resulting in loss of brain functions.
Dr. Roxy’s statement in her defense
“This has humbled me more than you can know. I am willing to change my social media practices and I will never live stream a surgery again.” Dr. Grawe and her legal team made no public statements about the situation. Her social media profiles, including her TikTok account, are now private. Furthermore, her webpage is locked.