B.C. naturopath loses licence over illicit cosmetic injections, forging consent

A B.C. naturopath who admitted to injecting a patient with a prohibited nerve blocker without her full consent and then forging a document to cover his tracks has been barred from practice for four years.

Allan Strauss of Maple Ridge surrendered his licence last week after admitting that he gave a woman a shot of phenol for cosmetic reasons after misleading her about what it was, according to a consent order with the College of Naturopathic Physicians of B.C.

According to the college, Strauss also forged a document suggesting the patient had given informed consent to the injection.

Under the agreement, the naturopath will not be allowed to apply for reinstatement of his licence for four years and must pay $10,000 for the college's investigation costs and another $10,000 in fines.

Naturopaths in this province are not allowed to administer phenol, a substance that has similar effects to Botox and is often used to control muscle spasms in people who've had strokes or brain injuries.

But the consent order doesn't end with the phenol injection.

Strauss also prescribed several substances that naturopaths are not qualified to prescribe, including testosterone, the testosterone replacement drug, Delasteryl, the tranquilizers clonazepam and lorazepam, an injectable iron supplement called dexiron and the hormone, DHEA, according to the college.

And even though the college ordered him to stop peforming cosmetic injections in October 2016 because he was under investigation, Strauss admitted that he defied that order on two occasions — in one of those cases, he offered to provide an injection for an undercover investigator.

Because of the breaches of the 2016 order, Strauss was suspended from practice last summer.

A receptionist who answered the phone Monday at Strauss's clinic, Salveo Naturopathic & Skin Care, said he has stepped away from the business. He is no longer listed as a practitioner on the clinic's website.

This isn't the first time Strauss has been in trouble with the college. In 2015, he was suspended from practice for seven days after he admitted to injecting patients with a counterfeit, non-sterile substance labelled as the filler Juvederm.

The disciplinary measures for that infraction also included a six-week correspondence course in ethics and a $10,000 fine.

Strauss's cosmetic procedures have also led to legal battles.

Six years ago, he was sued by a former patient at a laser skin therapy clinic he owned in Maple Ridge. The patient alleged that she had permanent facial injuries after a laser procedure left her bleeding and burned.

Strauss and the clinic argued that what happened to the woman was a result of pre-existing injuries or conditions.

The suit was settled out of court.