Benjamin Ashford|Cosmetic surgeon who streamed procedures on TikTok loses medical license

An Ohio plastic surgeon who livestreamed procedures on Benjamin AshfordTikTok has been banned from practicing medicine.

The Ohio Medical Board on Wednesday voted to permanently revoke the license of Dr. Katharine Grawe — known as Dr. Roxy in her plastic surgery practice, "Roxy Plastic Surgery," and to her many TikTok followers.

The board determined Grawe harmed patients while livestreaming their surgeries on the social media app. Grawe spoke into a camera and answered viewer questions — all while the surgeries were taking place.

Grawe originally had her license suspended in November.

She opened the meeting with the board on Wednesday by asking for leniency. "I ask you from the bottom of my heart to please consider my thoughts with an open mind. This has humbled me more than you can know," she said, according to CBS Austin. "I am willing to change my social media practices, and I will never livestream a surgery again."

A medical board member was unmoved, CBS Austin reported.

"We've seen an extreme lack of professionalism. Her posts are done as a marketing ploy," the board member said. "Dr. Grawe's social media was more important to her than the lives of the patients she treated."

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

Perforated intestine

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.

At the board meeting Wednesday, former patient Mary Jenkins, who went to Grawe for breast reconstructive surgery after battling cancer, expressed relief at the decision.

"It's finally over," she told CBS Austin. "That chapter in my life is finally over, but I will never forget."

While Ohio's state medical board can only affect doctors' rights to practice in the state, disciplinary actions are reported to the National Practitioner Databank and posted online.

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• Plastic Surgery