Leon, I think anyone who graduates from Yale is talented. I mean seriously..I hardly made it through 10th grade math.
recovery is going great! Dude I went out the night I had the injections done, no one noticed. The swelling goes down in a day and your left with little, small injection sites, no big deal at all. You get the added benefit of seeing quick results as well as the silicone is a permanent filler.
20 minutes is all it takes for the numbing process to take effect. You cant feel the injections all that much. With Dr. Alkek I was begging for mercy because I wasn't numbed.
No precautions are necessary for silicone injections. The only thing Dr. Lam somewhat stresses is to avoid frowning, smiling, or sleeping on your face for the first 48 hours.
Dude, I havn't been this confident with my appearance for a good while. Wish I could share this feeling with everyone.
Anymore questions feel free to ask.
Pakifairy,
Like Leon stated, TCA cross is a good alternative for icepicks.
Awesome, man!! I'm going to follow you to get over w/ this long lasting battle!
Thank you for helping me choosing the right doctor! I will definitely have more questions to ask before or after the procedure. I hope I can see the same good results as yours!!
--Leon
drewboy,
Is updating this thread becoming your new full time job? 
I can definitely see how excited you are!
So how would you rate your improvement in terms of percentage? 70%? 80% It's so encouraging that you couldn't even find where some of your scars used to be. Do you mean they are completely gone? were they deep or shallow type? which of them responded better to the treatment?
Man, I can't concentrate on my work today. I'm just as excited as you are 
Leon
Naitch - I think the key to the article link that you posted is "Illicit". The silicone injections mentioned in the article are illegal and the unqualified injectors use large quantities of non-pure silicone. That article has little to do with the subject that Drewboy started which is the micro-injection of medically pure silicone to correct scarring!
Dan
drewboy,
Is updating this thread becoming your new full time job?
So how would you rate your improvement in terms of percentage? 70%? 80% It's so encouraging that you couldn't even find where some of your scars used to be. Do you mean they are completely gone? were they deep or shallow type? which of them responded better to the treatment?
Man, I can't concentrate on my work today. I'm just as excited as you are
Leon
Hi Drewboy - I have been happy with my silicone treatments. Nothing else worked very well except for silicone micro but I alway empasize that you must find an experienced M.D. I would like to have a touch-up round in a couple of areas so I may give Dr. Lam a call. My dermabrasions helped the superficial scars but my deep tissue loss was only helped with the silicone micro.
I am really glad to hear of your success because I know what great suffering we all have been through with these scars.
Thats a hell of a before picture. I dont see anything wrong.
Update:
added new pics to my original post
Please check new BEFORE SILICONE pics straight from Dr. Lam's office. You'll get a better understanding of the rolling scars on the sides of my mouth and cheeks. After the next visit, hopefully these scars will have been completely eradicated. It seems to me like this 3rd treatment may of done it, but I'm going to go in for a 4th treatment with Dr. Lam because he has a much better eye then I do.
I've had over 8 rounds of silicone with a doctor in Boulder, CO and saw poor to no results. Geez, it must be the doctor then, but I have a hard time believeing that. There's no way I could have had less silicone injected in my scars than you have had! Ive also had 5 fraxels and dermbrasion, blah, blah...
Anyway, I'm about to see my dad tomorrow after several years and he used to comment on how bad my skin looked. After all these treatments I had I can still say it looks bad and I am greatly disappointed. I so wish it could just look normal so I could face him 
My whole trip is ruined before it has even started.
I've read many articles that silicione injections can be fatal. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSCOL05920520061130
As with driving a car to the grocery store, swimming in the ocean, or playing golf in the rain, these can all be fatal. Shoot, I read a report on the soft drink Crystal Light stating that Aspartane, the sugar substitute within the drink, can cause tumors and prove to be fatal.
Hey bud, I mean this in the most respectful way, but the chances of silicone MICRO droplet injection with pure medical grade silicone being fatal are slim to none. At times there are complications but that goes for anything.
Read Leons take on your post, its very informative.
I will chime in as I have now had 3 round of silicone injections with Dr. Alkek. The first round yielded no results in my opinion. The second round did absolutely nothing, but I think he really underestimated the severity (because of the smooth edges) and he did not inject much. The third round is too recent to gage, but he injected quite a bit more this time so I am hopeful...but to be honest I am pretty skeptical at this point (as far as effectiveness for MYSELF goes).
I will say one thing I am disappointed in is the "oh you look so much better" again. Then I say, well looks look under the light and see...and then they quickly come off of that statement and say "well, its a little better". Trust me, I know my scars really well after looking them daily for 20 yrs. I guess that is part of the deal since they are in the cosmetic industry, but it always always ticks me off when they do that.
Anyway, I am still hopeful and will give it maybe 1 more round depending on the outcome of this round...but if I see zero results again, I will probably just give up and go back to rolling (seemed to improving things....just very very slowly).
I hope I do not discourage anyone though because there are many people who have had amazing results so I would still recommend this procedure even though "I" may not be getting results.
I've had over 8 rounds of silicone with a doctor in Boulder, CO and saw poor to no results. Geez, it must be the doctor then, but I have a hard time believeing that. There's no way I could have had less silicone injected in my scars than you have had! Ive also had 5 fraxels and dermbrasion, blah, blah...
I will chime in as I have now had 3 round of silicone injections with Dr. Alkek. The first round yielded no results in my opinion. The second round did absolutely nothing, but I think he really underestimated the severity (because of the smooth edges) and he did not inject much. The third round is too recent to gage, but he injected quite a bit more this time so I am hopeful...but to be honest I am pretty skeptical at this point (as far as effectiveness for MYSELF goes).
I will say one thing I am disappointed in is the "oh you look so much better" again. Then I say, well looks look under the light and see...and then they quickly come off of that statement and say "well, its a little better". Trust me, I know my scars really well after looking them daily for 20 yrs. I guess that is part of the deal since they are in the cosmetic industry, but it always always ticks me off when they do that.
Anyway, I am still hopeful and will give it maybe 1 more round depending on the outcome of this round...but if I see zero results again, I will probably just give up and go back to rolling (seemed to improving things....just very very slowly).
I hope I do not discourage anyone though because there are many people who have had amazing results so I would still recommend this procedure even though "I" may not be getting results.
I've had over 8 rounds of silicone with a doctor in Boulder, CO and saw poor to no results. Geez, it must be the doctor then, but I have a hard time believeing that. There's no way I could have had less silicone injected in my scars than you have had! Ive also had 5 fraxels and dermbrasion, blah, blah...
Im curious as to what type of scarring you have?
Guys, not to be pushy, but I feel the differences between my sessions with Dr. Lam and my sessions with Dr. Alkek were night and day. I truly feel like you need someone else injecting the silicone. Dr. Lam injected my scars in a linear patters , in rows and columns, where as Dr. Alkek would find a scar, inject it once, and then move on...
Anyhow, I'll get my 'after' pics up here and let you guys judge the difference.
My scars are saucer shaped with soft edges (co2 and dermabrasion helped with the edges). Mine go away completely when stretched. By all accounts, I am a perfect candidate. I had a couple rounds of artecoll and that helped a good bit. I am really wondering if my scar depth is deceiving because of the soft edges. They tend to underestimate it and may not be injecting enough. When I did the artecoll, they pumped a lot in and it worked good. For my silicone, they have done a good bit less than what others reported.
Don't count me as a non responder just yet though. Give me another 3-4 months and at least one more round. I am still keeping my fingers crossed.
Drew,
Do you think the different approach of the two doctors made any difference in terms of the results? Which one did your scarring respond better?
Based on my research, silicone injection has much higher success rate treating acne scarring than any other methods. However, everybody is different. There might be some patients simply don't respond well. Just like many of us only need one round of accutane to cure the acne, but some will need 2, 3 or even more rounds and still not able to have their acne under control. Unfortunately, this is something science doesn't explain well at this moment. Whoever can come up with an ultimate solution for acne and acne scarring should win the Nobel Prize!!
Thanks!
Leon
My scars are saucer shaped with soft edges (co2 and dermabrasion helped with the edges). Mine go away completely when stretched. By all accounts, I am a perfect candidate. I had a couple rounds of artecoll and that helped a good bit. I am really wondering if my scar depth is deceiving because of the soft edges. They tend to underestimate it and may not be injecting enough. When I did the artecoll, they pumped a lot in and it worked good. For my silicone, they have done a good bit less than what others reported.
Don't count me as a non responder just yet though. Give me another 3-4 months and at least one more round. I am still keeping my fingers crossed.
Hey Drewboy, Do you think it would make sense to have deeper scars subcised before having silicone injections? To help break up some of the fibrous strands holding the scar down beforehand? And from what I understand, collagen builds up around the silicone droplets, but the silicone acts as a filler aswell right? Not just an agent that stimulates collagen reproduction.
Correct me if i'm wrong
Hey Drewboy, Do you think it would make sense to have deeper scars subcised before having silicone injections? To help break up some of the fibrous strands holding the scar down beforehand? And from what I understand, collagen builds up around the silicone droplets, but the silicone acts as a filler aswell right? Not just an agent that stimulates collagen reproduction.Correct me if i'm wrong
Bug - Yes they can do silicone injections below the jaw line. I had several scars below my right ear and outside of the jaw line that Dr. Alkek did inject and they did respond by filling in. I think that the silicone micro-injections can be used in pretty much any area where filling is needed. I have to agree with Drewboy's experience, the 7 rounds that I had with Dr. Alkek did a great job in filling in areas that did not respond to any other treatment and I think that the injections were the most effective treatment that I have had. I have done almost everything - dermabrasion, numerous excisions, spot laser, and subscisions.
Drewboy,
It is funny...I did not realize Dr. Lam was in Dallas. I had been assuming you were treated by Dr. Alkek, especially with the texas state avatar (bad assumption on my part). I will have a look into it. Thanks.
Dan,
I saw you are thinking about seeing Dr. Lam. Like you, I have seen Dr. Alkek. What would make you want to go to Dr. Lam vs. Dr. Alkek? I cannot say either way what my results are with Alkek yet, but I feel I should be having better results right now. Also, Dr. Alkek seemed to think this would be my last session...and in my opinion if the treatment works, I want to do it until it does not make sense anymore. I would guess that is a few more treatments at the least. I would think the first few sessions are "filling" sessions and the subsequent ones would but "tuning" sessions. These scars are very very sensitive to light and need very good correction to remedy that issue.