Physician who worked for TikTok famous Dr. Roxy surrenders his Ohio medical license

A physician who practiced alongside Dr. Katharine Roxanne Grawe, a plastic surgeon known as Dr, Roxy, has surrendered his Ohio medical license for good.

Dr. Carlos Domingo, who worked at Roxy Plastic Surgery, agreed to permanently give up his license to practice medicine in Ohio on Feb. 14, according to an agreement with the State Medical Board of Ohio. Domingo "failed to conform to minimal standards of care of similar practitioners," medical board documents state.

Domingo, 47, of Gahanna, is a surgeon who earned his undergraduate degree from Indiana State University and completed his medical residency at Ohio State University, records show. He declined to comment when The Dispatch reached him by phone Tuesday.

By giving up his medical license, Domingo will be able to forgo a formal disciplinary hearing that Grawe herself underwent in 2023. Since Domingo voluntarily surrendered his license, he will not be able to appeal as other physicians sometimes do, said medical board spokeswoman Jerica Stewart.

"The board’s decision to accept the permanent surrenders, for which there can be no appeal, prioritizes public safety," Stewart told The Dispatch via email.

Grawe, who Domingo worked with, lost her medical license in July for also failing to meet the minimum standards of care. Grawe was known to her thousands of online followers as "Dr. Roxy" and became known for live streaming procedures from the operating room.

Read More: Dr. Roxy posted video of her 'botched' surgery online. Now she's speaking up about it

The medical board had received complaints about Grawe as far back as 2017, but records obtained by The Dispatch showed the board declined to take formal disciplinary action against the plastic surgeon at the time. It wasn't until November 2022 that the medical board suspended Grawe's license. The board permanently revoked her license in July.

Grawe's Roxy Plastic Surgery — where she and Domingo worked — also did not have a $300 certificate it needed from the Ohio Department of Health to operate as an ambulatory surgical facility. Failing to get one can result in fines of up to $250,000, according to the state health department.

When asked about Domingo's work with Grawe, Stewart directed The Dispatch to the physician's agreement to surrender his medical license, which does not offer more specifics about accusations against the two.

Domingo is, however, named as a co-defendant in at least six active civil lawsuits and two closed cases against Grawe and Roxy Plastic Surgery that were filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Read More: Former Dr. Roxy patients say she hurt them years before she was TikTok famous

In a lawsuit filed July 12, a former patient accused Domingo of negligence following a June 2021 surgery, court records show. The lawsuit also alleges that Domingo provided care for which he was not trained or credentialed. A lawsuit filed July 14 alleged that Domingo failed to adequately monitor a patient after her surgery. Attorneys for Domingo did not respond to requests for comment.

David I. Shroyer, an attorney with the Columbus law firm Colley, Shroyer and Abraham that has represented several clients in cases against Roxy Plastic Surgery, said he wasn't aware that Domingo had surrendered his medical license. As part of just one active civil lawsuit filed in September, Shroyer's firm is currently representing nine patients against Grawe, Domingo and other employees at the former plastic surgery practice.

In particular, Shroyer said his firm is examining the frequency for which patients under the care of Grawe and Domingo suffered infections. Some of his clients, Shroyer said, were told to eat more protein instead of being treated for what were infections.

"When a doctor sees his or her patients with infections that frequently, shouldn't the alarm bells be going off?" Shroyer said. "There should have been an investigation into this sooner."

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: TikTok plastic surgeon Dr Roxy's colleage surrenders his license