Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

Hi Dr. Lam,

I was wondering what, if any, side effects you have seen from silicone.
One article I was reading said, "Delayed reactions to silicone can happen 1 to 25 years after treatment, you can't predict who is going to react or when."
Have you seen any reactions during the time you have been using silicone, have you seen any "lumps" or "bumps" occur after injections? I understand that if this does happen they are permanent?

Thank you

i have never seen a reaction to silicone, as it is bioinert and does not respond when injected. typically, the very rare reactions that occur are due to impure silicone products or fake silicone products. i have worked with physicians who have used pure silicone product over 50 years without reactions. watch my videos on silicone to understand my point of view on the matter:
http://www.lamfacialplastics.com/galler ... y+and+Use/
that being said, there is a very low risk of infection that can occur if the area is traumatized or accessed by infection. that can create a reaction that can be controlled with antibiotics and 5FU if need be. that risk is very very low and can be managed. this can happen with any type of filler, temporary or permanent, but fortunately much much lower chance in a permanent filler.

Thanks Dr. Lam, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions, its wonderful!
One more for you....I have Crohns Disease which is an autoimmune disease that is noT curable. I am sure you are somewhat familiar with this disease (?) but its bascially inflammation throughout my digestive track. Would havindg a disease like this and already having chronic inflammation have any effect on receiving silicone injections? Would that put me at any risk of having some sort of reaction such as my body tries to reject it moreso than the average person or higher risk of getting iflammation from the injections?

in short, no. you should be fine to have silicone if you have crohn's.
best,
sml

Hello,

I am still considering silicone injections for ance scarring. The only thing holding me back is the possibility of migration and granulomas, and having Crohn's disease is the major issue for me. I know you said, in short, no I should be fine if I have Crohn's but I recently read an article regarding a treatment for granulomas and there is a paragraph in there regarding Crohn's. Would you be so kind as to read this and let me know your thoughts?
Below is the excerpt but here is the link to it.
http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/141/1/13.pdf

Thank you so much!

"The pathogenesis of silicone granulomas is unknown,
although it is believed to involve T-cell activation,
possibly triggered by infectious processes, adulterants
added to silicone to enhance fibroplasia, or denaturing
host proteins adsorbed to silicone. Silicone granulomas
are associated with elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor
_ (TNF-_).11 Tumor necrosis factor _ is a proinflammatory
cytokine that plays an important role in granuloma
formation in many diseases, including sarcoidosis
and Crohn’s disease.12 The TNF inhibitors infliximab and
etanercept have been used successfully in patients with
these diseases.13,14 These agents would thus appear to be
a promising treatment for silicone granulomas. We chose
to use etanercept rather than infliximab because of its ease
of administration."

what you are showing is disastrous large body silicone injections, which i do not do and truly carry risk. it is very unlikely when you do small doses in small areas. really there is no link with crohn's in any shape or size.