COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — The Ohio State Medical Board ruled Wednesday to permanently revoke the medical license of plastic surgeon Dr. Katharine Grawe.
Best known as Dr. Roxy by her patients and on her social media platforms, Grawe had her license suspended in Nov. 2022 following complaints by former patients that they suffered post-procedure injuries.
She opened her meeting with the board on Wednesday by saying, "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 ... I am willing to change my social media practices, and I will never live stream a surgery again."
"We've seen an extreme lack of professionalism. Her posts are done as a marketing ploy," a state medical board member replied. "Dr. Grawe’s social media was more important to her than the lives of the patients she treated."
The State Medical Board said it can only make decisions regarding a doctor's license in Ohio. But, when a physician is disciplined, the Medical Board reports the action to the National Practitioner Databank and posts the action online.
Some of Grawe's former patients were at the Medical Board's meeting Wednesday and reacted to the decision to revoke her license.
It’s finally over," former patient Mary Jenkins said. "That chapter in my life is finally over, but I will never forget."Jenkins went to Grawe for breast reconstructive surgery after battling breast cancer in 2012.
She continued, "I was getting ready to come here today, and I stood in front of the mirror, and I saw my scar again, and I thought, it’s coming to an end today, but it never really ends. We will always remember Dr. Roxy."
A letter to Grawe from the State Medical Board of Ohio notified her of her suspension effective Nov. 18, 2022.
In part, the letter said, "The Secretary and the Supervising Member of the State Medical Board of Ohio have determined that there is clear and convincing evidence that you have violated sections in the Ohio Revised Code and have further determined that your continued practice presents danger of immediate and serious harm to the public."
Grawe, who practiced at Roxy Plastic Surgery in Powell, appeared before the State Medical Board's hearing examiner in May.
WSYX was the only media team inside the hearing room that week as Grawe's attorney argued why her client should keep her medical license.
"We are reminded of what plastic surgery is," attorney Sabrina Sellers said in May. "Plastic surgery by nature is an elective procedure. They are not clinically necessary, and they are chosen to be undergone by patients. The medicine, in this case, has always been sound."
"The board had reason to believe that Dr. Grawe’s practice, with respect to three patients, fell below the standard of care," Assistant Attorney General Melinda Ryan Snyder said in May. "In 2022, Dr. Grawe live streamed a surgery of a patient, in this case, identified as Patient One, who ended up being injured by that procedure. The patient was found to have six puncture wounds in the small intestines. She had to have multiple surgeries to repair those injuries."
Grawe built a following on social media, particularly TikTok and Snapchat, by livestreaming videos of some of her procedures, she claimed, to educate and connect with her patients.
"The optics intended were for it to be educational in nature and to allow her patients to feel comfortable with her prior to coming to her office," Sellers said. "(Grawe) will tell you that although three patients did experience adverse outcomes, that there were known risks and complications of the procedures and they were not caused by a breach in the standard of care ... The reason she places those videos out into the public are to relate to her patients. It's to educate, relate and demystify. She has nothing to hide."
The state argued that Grawe's use of social media impacted patient care.
"This is not a case about optics," Snyder said. "This is a case about facts. This is a case about the fact that Dr. Grawe’s use of social media impacted her patient care. That is a fact. There is no reason to video multiple surgeries for educational purposes. Really one will do."
Snyder continued about Grawe's social media use, "The use of social media for advertising is complicated, and it’s not a violation, but what happened, in this case, is that Dr. Grawe’s use of social media broke down that wall of professionalism that exists between a physician and her patient. These are major surgeries with life-threatening potential complications, and Dr. Roxy doesn’t seem to understand that."
Sellers said Grawe wants to move forward and used her closing argument to share Grawe's commitment to helping the Ohio State Medical Board better navigate social media in the medical field.
"We have the benefit of having a physician who has been successful in using social media and is ready and willing to work with the board so it can be applied and so no other physician sits in the same seat she is in today," Sellers said.
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