Plastic surgeon who livestreamed procedures on TikTok banned from practicing medicine in Ohio

Dr. Katherine Roxanne Grawe, known to her online followers and patients as "Dr. Roxy," appears before an Ohio Medical Board hearing, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. Grawe, an Ohio plastic surgeon, had her state medical license permanently revoked Wednesday after the medical board determined she harmed patients while livestreaming their surgeries on the social media app TikTok. (Courtney Hergesheimer/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio plastic surgeon's state medical license was permanently revoked Wednesday after a medical board determined she harmed patients while livestreaming their surgeries on the social media app TikTok.

The Ohio Medical Board voted to ban Katharine Grawe -- also known as Dr. Roxy in her plastic surgery practice "Roxy Plastic Surgery" and to her many TikTok followers -- from ever practicing again in the state.

The board said Grawe, who originally had her license suspended in November, neglected her patients as she livestreamed parts of their procedures, spoke into a camera and answered viewer questions -- all while the surgeries were taking place.

Neither Grawe nor her lawyers responded to Wednesday messages seeking comment. Grawe's TikTok account is currently private.

The board warned Grawe about her actions as early as 2018, citing concerns over patient privacy and possible ethics violations, according to a previous board suspension notice.

The notice also listed three patients of Grawe's who suffered severe complications and needed intense medical care after she operated on them. One woman's intestine was found to be perforated a week after her surgery, a procedure that Grawe partially livestreamed on TikTok.

The unnamed patient suffered severe damage to and bacterial infections in her abdomen, as well as loss of brain function from the amount of toxins in her blood, according to the notice.

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Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.