- Dr. Daniel Aronov has reportedly been banned from performing cosmetic surgery.
- Aronov was a TikTok star with over 13 million followers.
- The ban follows an investigation into the practices of a clinic run by Dr. Daniel Lanzer.
Dr. Daniel Aronov, a cosmetic surgeon and TikTok star, has been banned from performing cosmetic surgery in Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Aronov, who amassed over 13 million followers on TikTok for his skits, dances, and educational content about medicine, as well as videos that showed some of his procedures, was barred from performing all kinds of cosmetic surgeries and ordered to remove his social media posts by The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), according to the Herald.
His TikTok account vanished two weeks ago, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) Four Corners investigative series. His Instagram account, where he had over 500,000 followers, and his OnlyFans page, have also been taken down. This follows AHPRA orders to remove all material on social media that related to cosmetic and surgical procedures, Newsweek reported.
The AHPRA works with 15 of Australia’s National Boards to regulate the country’s registered health practitioners. One of its purposes is to manage complaints and concerns raised about individual health practitioners, its website states.
The ban follows controversy surrounding the owner of the Melbourne clinic Aronov worked at, run by Dr. Daniel Lanzer.A joint investigation documentary in October by the Australian publications Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and ABC’s Four Corners reported allegations of medical misconduct, with multiple patients reporting botched surgeries that left them with pain or seeking further treatments.
One patient named Donna Patterson said in the documentary that she signed up for Lanzer’s breast
liposuction
procedure after seeing him on TV. It seemed like a less invasive alternative to breast reduction surgery, she said. But then, she said she was left with excruciating pain for two years and had to undergo corrective surgery.
Patterson successfully sued Lanzer in 2002 and he was ordered to pay damages, according to ABC.
“In my 30-year career, I’ve never had a single ruling or recommendation against me regarding my method of surgery or my patient care by any regulator,” Lanzer said in a video statement in the documentary. The AHPRA launched an investigation into Lanzer shortly after the documentary aired. A statement on the ADPRA website on October 30 said Lanzer had agreed not to practice medicine in Australia while the investigation was continuing.
In the aftermath of the documentary, Aronov, a former employee at one of Lanzer’s clinics, also came under fire from his patients.
One patient named Jackie told the Australian news broadcast show “A Current Affair” she felt “traumatized” after a procedure to remove excess fat around her jaw and neck, where she was awake. Chin liposuction can be done with either local or general anesthesia, but a Self investigation into “awake” procedures found that while they are advertised as giving the patient more control, it may actually be a way for clinics to cut corners — such as not having to front the cost of an anesthesiologist.
“It’s etched into my mind because I was lying there shaking, in shock, in pain, and just traumatized as to what he had just done to me and he was on the other side of the door doing a TikTok video,” Jackie told A Current Affair. “I’m lying there as their patient, behind the door, feeling like I’m going to die, and there he was entertaining the public.” Jackie also alleged the procedure also left her with nerve damage.
Aronov reportedly told A Current Affair in a news segment on November 24 he had resigned from his position and had “taken some time off.”
Through a lawyer, he said, “it would be inappropriate for me to comment on any matters that are currently the subject of any AHPRA inquiry,” A Current Affair reported.
During Aronov’s ban from surgery, he is allowed to practice as a general practitioner if supervised by an AHPRA-approved supervisor, according to ABC.
Insider did not immediately hear back from Lanzer, Aronov, or the AHPRA for comment.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider’s Digital Culture team here.