A former podiatrist in New Jersey has been sentenced to four years in state prison for illegally administering BOTOX treatments at private home parties. Stephen Saul of Margate, New Jersey was awaiting the reinstatement of his medical license after he was found guilty of drug possession in 2001.

The young doctor claims that he was just too eager to practice medicine again, leading him to falsified prescription writing and the BOTOX parties. Saul pleaded guilty in December to allegations of illegally practicing medicine as well as fraudulent health care claims. “Being hasty, I made a mistake. Unfortunately, I won’t have my license to practice medicine again”, Saul told the Superior Court Judge.

Unqualified and non-medical cosmetic procedure services are increasingly concerning to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the leading authorities on plastic and cosmetic surgery in the U.S. More and more people are turning to spas, malls, salons and even private parties to receive non-invasive cosmetic procedures such BOTOX, chemical peels and fillers. “There are some misconceptions among patients about the true nature of non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Non-surgical does not mean non-medical,” emphasizes Dr. Mark Jewell of the Aesthetic Society.

Patients of any medical procedure should know who is treating them, how they are qualified and where the materials they are using come from, which is often not the case when cosmetic procedures are performed outside of a medical setting. Physician supervision is often minimal and sometimes even non-existent when procedures are administered outside of the doctor’s office. This puts the patient at a much more substantial risk for error, infection and other serious complications.

Non-invasive cosmetic procedures, like any plastic surgery, should only be administered in a well-supervised medical setting.