Extreme makeover: Cosmetic surgery supplier bear-hugs change as it breaks with its past

The second day of 2019 marked the end of an era in more ways than one for Bovie Medical Corp. It signaled the demise of the Clearwater-based medical technology company as it’s been known since it was founded in 1982.

A maker of surgical devices and supplies for cosmetic surgeons, dermatologists, veterinarians, gynecologists and other health care specialists, Bovie recently took a giant risk. It sold the rights to its name and many of its core products for $97 million to Antioch, Tenn.-based Symmetry Surgical. Bovie, after the sale, rebranded as Apyx Medical Corp.