Doc Who Livestreamed Surgeries on TikTok Loses License

An Ohio plastic surgeon had her medical license permanently revoked this week following concerns about her livestreams of procedures on TikTok, and about reports of patient complications.

Katharine Roxanne Grawe, MD — who went by “Dr. Roxy” on TikTok — had her license suspended in November of last year. After a hearing on Wednesday, the State Medical Board of Ohio made their disciplinary action permanent.

According to the July 12 board order, Grawe’s license was permanently revoked and she will have to pay a fine of $4,500.

In a notice of summary suspension from November, the medical board outlined their concerns regarding both Grawe’s livestreams and several reports of patient complications. The board noted that after Grawe completed remedial education courses, she “continued to video produce and live broadcast medical procedures of some patients, at least through on or about October 14, 2022.”

“Aspects of these productions include, but are not limited to, pre-operative photos, pre-operative interviews with patients about their bodies, live-streams of their procedures, post-operative still images of patients taken in the operating room, and the cost of the procedure,” the document stated. “During some videos/live-streams [Grawe engaged] in dialogue to respond to viewers’ online questions while the surgical procedure remain[ed] actively ongoing.”

The notice of summary suspension also described reported instances of failure by Grawe to provide appropriate treatment to patients or failure to document appropriate treatment.

Specifically, the notice outlined reports from a trio of patients, identified only as patients 1, 2, and 3.

In the case of patient 1, the document stated that, following liposuction, a “Brazilian Butt Lift,” and a plasma procedure in March of last year, the individual was found to have a perforated small bowel and necrotizing soft tissue infection upon being transferred to a hospital after returning home. The patient required a “prolonged stay,” according to the document, “with multiple debridements, open abdomen and skin grafting.”

“While looking at the camera and speaking to the camera, you were engaged in liposuction of Patient 1’s abdomen,” the document stated in part, addressing 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.”

Patient 2 was reported to have required small bowel resection, two repairs of the small bowel and partial omentectomy, following liposuction and “Brazilian Butt Lift” procedures as well as umbilical hernia repair and plasma treatments, according to the notice.

In the case of patient 3, who received a breast augmentation with silicone implants and a mastopexy revision with internal bra, the individual was ultimately found to have developed an infection requiring the removal of bilateral implants and the mesh bra bilaterally as well as debridement bilaterally of both breasts, the document stated.

As for additional patients reporting improper care or complications, an online records search of Franklin County Court in Ohio showed that a number of lawsuits against Grawe remain active and ongoing.

At this week’s hearing before the state medical board, Grawe said she filmed videos in the operating room “to make people smile in a world that is negative and difficult to navigate,” and that she understands that “many of those silly videos appeared unprofessional,” according to reporting from WCMH-TV in Columbus.

Legal counsel for Grawe did not immediately respond to MedPage Today’s request for comment.

Jennifer Henderson joined MedPage Today as an enterprise and investigative writer in Jan. 2021. She has covered the healthcare industry in NYC, life sciences and the business of law, among other areas.

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