If you live in an urban or suburban area, chances are you've seen a medi-spa, even if you didn't know it. These facilities are popping up all over the place, and offer cosmetic treatments like Botox injections, dermal fillers and other non-invasive procedures that can help reduce the signs of aging. While some people working at these facilities are trained to provide such treatments, it's rare that anyone employed at a medi-spa has undergone the proper training to carry out more serious surgeries, like liposuction. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop some medi-spas from offering these procedures, and the results can be disastrous, according to USA Today.

Irma Carabajal LeCroy of Dallas, Texas, knows this all too well. In early 2011, LeCroy visited a medi spa and received a treatment from a man known as Dr. Hector Molina. While he was a medically trained doctor, Molina dealt in internal medicine and was not trained to use technology to provide liposuction. The faulty liposuction seriously impaired her ability to walk - now LeCroy has to use a wheelchair or walker to get around. Her medical treatments also cost her most of her financial assets, and a year later she finds herself without job.

Patients like LeCroy aren't to blame for these procedures. Laws governing plastic surgery vary state to state, and it's not difficult for people like Molina to make hazy claims about their certification or training. According to the news source, last year, only 25 states required licensing or accreditation at medical offices - which could include medi-spas where surgery is performed. Critics of plastic surgery legislation agree that the laws restricting office-based surgery don't go far enough.

Patients' best defense against unscrupulous cosmetic surgery providers may be to simply education themselves about how to find a trustworthy, board-certified plastic surgeon. The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) offers a find-a-surgeon tool on its website, which makes it easy for prospective patients to locate a credible plastic surgery provider in their area. 

ASAPS advises patients to never choose a doctor simply because he or she offers cheaper services. The facility where the surgeon will perform the procedure can be a big indicator of your safety as well - cosmetic plastic surgery must be performed in a safe, accredited office-based facility, free-standing ambulatory surgery facility or a hospital.