Idaho women sue doctor, claim they got counterfeit implants

BOISE – Four women have sued an Idaho doctor who they claim gave them counterfeit breast implants and knock-off Botox without their knowledge during procedures.

The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court contends that Dr. Temp Patterson, a plastic surgeon in Burley, used implants and injected a drug that were imported from China and not FDA approved.

Patterson did not immediately return phone calls requesting comment.

Photos included with the lawsuit depict medication labeled as “Botox” that match pictures of a counterfeit drug that were issued by the FDA as part of a safety alert last year.

Donjua Moseley, one of the women bringing the lawsuit, used to work for Patterson at Magic Valley Laser Cosmetics but quit last year.

In the lawsuit, she said she quit after Patterson asked her to order an FDA-approved breast implant manufactured in the U.S. so it could be photographed and added to the medical records of a patient who had received non-FDA approved Chinese implants.

That patient, whose full name was not disclosed in the court document, is still unaware that she received counterfeit implants, according to the lawsuit.

The women contend Patterson committed fraud, medical malpractice and violated federal racketeering laws. They’re asking for monetary damages in an amount to be proven in trial.

Three of the women bringing the lawsuit are in the process of having their breast implants removed, said Rick Hearn, an attorney and former medical doctor who is representing the women. They’re worried because they don’t know what the implants are made of.

“Of course there’s no way to have the foreign `Botox’ removed,” Hearn said.

He said some other former patients of Patterson’s have reached out to him after hearing about the lawsuit and others likely remain unaware that they may have received counterfeit medical products.