TikTok doc loses medical license after livestreaming procedures on social media
An Ohio plastic surgeon has had her medical license permanently revoked after she livestreamed a series of procedures on social media app TikTok.
Katharine Roxanne Grawe, MD, also known as Dr. Roxy on social media, had her medical license suspended after several patients came forward alleging that her negligence had caused them serious post-procedural complications. Dr. Roxy was known for livestreaming various cosmetic procedures on TikTok, often pausing to field questions from users.
At least 11 patients have come forward regarding severe complications stemming from treatments and procedures completed by Grawe. A November summary of Grawe’s suspension detailed the cases of three patients (referred to as patient 1, 2 and 3) who had been either hospitalized or had to undergo multiple rounds of additional treatments and/or procedures as a result of complications from their procedures that the doctor had livestreamed.
"While looking at the camera and speaking to the camera, you were engaged in liposuction of Patient 1's abdomen," the notice stated, referencing Grawe. "Despite liposuction being a blind surgery that requires awareness of the tip of the cannula to avoid injury, your attention to the camera meant at those moments you were not looking at the patient or palpating the location of the tip of the cannula."
That particular patient endured a “prolonged stay” in a hospital and underwent multiple debridements.
During a July 12 hearing on the matter, the Ohio State Medical Board moved to make Grawe’s suspension permanent on the grounds that she had departed from the minimal standards of care, some of them accusing her of prioritizing her social media presence over her patients. She also was ordered to pay a fine of $4,500.
In her hearing, Grawe said that she made the videos "to make people smile in a world that is negative and difficult to navigate," but that she understands how they may have appeared unprofessional, according to an NBC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.