The medical license of “Dr. Roxy,” who also goes by Grawe, has been permanently revoked by the State Medical Board of Ohio. This decision was made on Wednesday, as a result of neglecting her patients and livestreaming parts of her procedures, while answering viewer questions and speaking into a camera. The board suspended her license on November 18th.
The medical board in Ohio made a decision on Wednesday.
The attorney representing the state’s case against the doctor, while urging the board to revoke Grawe’s license, declared, “She turned major surgeries with potentially life-changing complications into one grand celebration. These patients relied on Dr. Roxy due to what they witnessed on social media. This case does not pertain to an outdated perception of social media.”
Grawe spoke to the board prior to the vote, urging members to maintain an open perspective when assessing the allegations against her.
She stated that her spouse abandoned her and her children have experienced bullying at school. Additionally, she expressed her discontent regarding the repercussions of the allegations on her personal life beyond the workplace. Grawe asserted that the punishment she has already endured surpassed her expectations in terms of severity.
Grawe stated that she now comprehends that she did not meet the medical board’s standards. She mentioned that she employed social media in an effort to dismantle the “rigid and intimidating barrier between patients and practitioners.”
Grawe informed the board, “I stand here today seeing how unprofessional those videos seemed and how silly many of them were. I understand how my actions at times seemed offensive and careless to my colleagues and patients.”
TARGETING PATIENTS: The state medical board did not adequately safeguard Ohioans from instances of doctors’ sexual misconduct.
“Recklessness” and indifference towards the board’s regulations, Jonathan B. Feibel, the medical board’s vice president, publicly criticized Grawe.
As per the suspension notice submitted online, the medical board’s secretary cautioned the doctor on multiple occasions within the past four years regarding the importance of upholding patient confidentiality while sharing photos or videos on social media before Grawe’s license was suspended.
In September 2021, Grawe, the secretary of the board, urged her to practice and learn about summaries with the goal of applying it in the future. She was asked to complete the courses and obtain certificates to provide evidence of her completion. She was also encouraged to undertake educational courses related to plastic surgery complications, ethics, and professionalism.
On October 14th, after completing the alleged board education courses, Grawe continued to broadcast live and film some medical procedures on patients.
In spite of the cautions, Feibel stated that Grawe disregarded grievances as originating from dissatisfied former patients.
Feibel said, “Dr. Grawe’s social media persona was more important to her than the lives of her patients. It is not appropriate to put patients in danger for the sake of social media in the world of social media.”
The medical license of Grawe was originally suspended in November, after convincing and clear evidence arose that her continued practice presented a serious and immediate danger to the public.
Procedure livestreamed on social media
The board mentioned three individuals who experienced difficulties after Grawe conducted surgery on them at her clinic, Roxy Plastic Surgery.
The medical staff determined that she was suffering from hepatic encephalopathy, a brain function loss or damage caused by toxins in the blood, when her liver was damaged. After receiving a Brazilian butt lift and liposuction procedure from Grawe Plastic Surgery, Roxy, a nurse practitioner at the clinic, sent the patient to the emergency room when air was found free in her abdomen, less than a week after the surgery.
The patient underwent additional assessment and therapy at a different medical facility, where it was discovered by surgeons during exploratory surgery that she had experienced bowel perforation and was suffering from a severe bacterial infection.
As stated in Grawe’s suspension notice, the individual necessitated an extended period of hospitalization involving multiple debridements, which are surgical interventions to eliminate necrotic tissue, an open abdomen, and the application of a skin graft.
As per the committee, Grawe was gazing and addressing the camera while carrying out liposuction on the patient’s belly, during which a portion of her operation at Grawe’s clinic was broadcasted live on social platforms.
Both Feibel and Dr. Yeshwant P. Reddy, another member of the medical board, expressed that a patient experienced significant harm and infection to her abdomen, which will probably lead to long-term complications. The doctors stated that Grawe should not be permitted to continue practicing medicine due to the serious consequences and lack of consideration shown.
“Is it possible for her to return and practice, rectifying her mistakes?” Reddy questioned. “No, I don’t believe so.”
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Ex-patient after decision: ‘Finally, I have closure after 11 years’
On Wednesday, Mary Jenkins, a former patient of Dr. Grawe who won a lawsuit against her in 2016 for a failed breast reconstruction surgery, attended the medical board meeting. However, she wasn’t one of the three latest patients who filed complaints against the doctor.
In 2006, Jenkins established Christians Conquering Cancer following her diagnosis of breast cancer, as a resident of the North Side. Surgeons removed Jenkins’ right breast in 2006, however, she delayed undergoing reconstructive surgery until her encounter with Grawe in 2012.
Grawe performed a surgical procedure at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s where a section from Jenkins’ abdominal region was extracted and utilized to create a new right breast. Unfortunately, the flap became congested with blood and ultimately ceased to function, leading to its removal by Grawe after two days.
As per a pretrial statement submitted by her lawyer, David Shroyer, Jenkins was left with “a significant gap in her chest that necessitated extensive wound treatment.” Although the injury recovered, she resided in a nursing facility for a duration of four months.
Jenkins’ lawsuit, which granted him $358,000 due to the unsuccessful operation, claimed that Grawe’s efforts to handle the complications, involving the use of leech therapy instead of surgical intervention, were deemed as professionally negligent and significantly deviated from the recognized norms of medical treatment.
On Wednesday, Grawe had her license revoked by the medical board after Jenkins wept. She has experienced the agony endured by numerous patients and desired that measures had been taken to avert it, expressing that the board’s response was long-awaited.
Jenkins said, “After enduring and remembering all those years, I finally went through closure.” “I also feel bad, but I have a good feeling about not knowing what this call is.”