The revoked, the accused, and the phony: A bad year for TikTok doctors

Medical professionals have flocked to TikTok to discuss the behind-the-scenes aspects of their jobs, garnering the trust of millions of viewers; but their popularity is sometimes to their own detriment, allowing users a peek too far behind the curtain.

Viewers have suddenly become privy to closed-door surgeries through the camera lens of a doctor’s phone, given professional insight into celebrities’ suspected plastic surgery operations, and granted access to free medical tips on skincare, therapy, dentistry, and virtually every medical field under the sun.

But as the profiles of some TikTok medical specialists rise, their records are re-analysed, complaints by previous patients resurface, and new ones may be empowered to come forward.

Disgraced plastic surgeon “Dr Roxy,” once-popular dentist “Dr Kenny,” and outed fake “doctor” Dalya Karezi are all cautionary tales for TikTok scrollers.

In each of these cases, their rise to fame brought increased scrutiny — followed by their demise.

Here is a look back at a rough year for DocTok:

Dr Roxy

Perhaps no greater controversy rocked DocTok than plastic surgeon Katharine Roxanne Grawe, known online as “Dr Roxy.”

Dr Grawe amassed a following of nearly 824,000 on TikTok by livestreaming surgeries, speaking to the camera as she walked through the steps of procedures, and dancing in her surgical gear.

But in November 2022, the wildly popular content that drew such an impressive fan base came to a screeching halt. Patients complained to the Ohio medical board, prompting an investigation that ended with her licence’s permanent revocation on 12 July.

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