Mentor Dismissed from Wash. Federal Silicone Breast Implant Case

SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit involving Mentor’s silicone gel-filled breast implants, finding the claims are expressly preempted because they seek to impose safety requirements that are different from, or in addition to, those imposed by federal law.

In a Dec. order, Judge John C. Coughenour of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington found the claims sound in failure-to-warn and therefore challenge the federally approved warnings accompanying the breast implants.

Pamela Shelp underwent breast augmentation surgery in 2011, during which she was implanted with silicone gel-filled breast implants. She received …