Breast implant ruptured, woman claims in suit

An Illinois woman has filed a suit against Mentor Corporation, claiming a breast replacement the company manufactured ruptured.

Debra Landman received the mammary prosthesis in 2003 and it ruptured in November 2006, according to the complaint filed Oct. 30 in Madison County Circuit Court.

The rupture caused her severe and permanently disabling injuries and she sustained great pain and mental anguish and disfiguring scars, the suit states.

In addition, she claims she lost large sums of money and incurred great medical expenses.

Mentor Corporation was negligent because the prosthesis was defectively designed and defectively manufactured, according to the complaint.

Landman is seeking a judgment in excess of $50,000 but less than $75,000.

Bruce N. Cook of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer and Shelvin in Belleville will be representing her.

Mentor Corporation has been in existence since 1969 and is the leading supplier of medical products for the global aesthetic medicine market, according to the company's Web site.

It has manufactured breast implants for more than 20 years in the United States.

"Mentor has achieved a tremendous level of respect in the medical community and is consistently recognized by physicians for outstanding product integrity," its site states.

It is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, and has about 2,000 employees, the site states.

Madison County Circuit Court case number: 08-L-1020.