Hello all...

Well if everything goes how I think it will, I should have a juicy update for all of you in early March.

Unfortunately that's all I can say for now.

Just thought I'd check in.

Well it's been a little over a year since my last procedure with "Dr. Lawrence Shapiro". The passing of that year has left me with a great story to tell and even a better ending.

Since I'm freshly off my corrective surgery with Dr. Gleen Charles, I'm not really in the best frame of mind to be documenting the past year. But I promise it will be soon.

This is the update. Maybe I should start another thread I'm not sure. But here goes.
You should probably start by reading the (4) letters below. I got the first one 12-14-09 after posting here. I then sent a response 1-4-2010. I got the attorny's next letter 2-15-10 after posting here that I would have an update. I sent my final response 2-27-10 and haven't heard a thing since. But by the content of the letters it is pretty obvious that Dr. Shapiro patrols these forums.

You'll notice that I've removed the attorney's information and my name from the letters. Even though Dr. Shapiro's attorney's name is public record, I felt it was best to keep him out of the mix for now. However, if I am challenged to provide documentation to validate my claims I can.

Attorney X's first letter to me.




My response...



This is Attorney X's second letter. It came with 66 pages of BS that didn't offer much if anything to substantiate his/Dr. Shapiro's claims. All of this information can be provided if necessary. It will just take me some time to edit for anonymity, upload and post.




This is my second and last response...



Please feel free to ask questions. I have photos that I plan on posting as well. I just wish I had a better file host than photo bucket. I am also going to start another thread regarding my last procedure with Dr. Glenn Charles. ( Night and Day difference, BTW)

Here are some pictures of my past and present procedures.

The first picture is of my scalp after my first procedure with Dr. Shapiro the second is of my scalp after my most recent procedure with Dr. Glenn Charles. You'll notice several major differences between these two pictures. Shapiro's placement is quite linear, which leaves you with what I would consider a unnatural looking hair line. Charles' placement is more random and uneven, like I think a real hairline would look. Shapiro appears to use a lager blade, which was more tramatic to my sclap. My scalp was numb for months after the Shapiro procedures. But I had very little numbness if any right after the Dr. Charles procedure. From what I've read, since Shapiro uses a larger tool there is more of a chance to shock surrounding hairs. A larger tool would also prevent dense placement.


The next three picture are of my hair line after my third procedure with Dr. Shapiro. The first is two weeks post op. and the next two are one year post op. Before my second and third procedure with Shapiro I specifically requested a softer, more natural looking hair line. Both times he assured me that I would get those results by the placement of single hair grafts on my front line. As you'll notice by the pictures his staff placed multiple, multi-follicle grafts on my front hair line.
LEFT PROFILE

LEFT PROFILE

RIGHT PROFILE

Something else you'll find interesting is the placement angle that Dr. Shapiro uses. Shapiro places the grafts on the front of the scalp straight up and down. From what I've read, typically the hair grows forward on the front of the scalp. Which is how Dr. Charles places his grafts.

The next two pictures are one year post op. of the scar I had after my third procedure with Dr. Shapiro. Now I know some will say, "Hey shouldn't you expect a significant scar after three procedures?". Well after Dr. Charles was done with my transplant and scar revision, I say no. The scar I was left with after my third procedure with Shapiro was awful. As you can see in the picture below, it was nearly one full centimeter wide. If I used a #5 guard on my shaver to cut my hair you could still see it. After a fresh hair cut I would have to use a topical to cover it.


Not only was the scar wide, but it was also deep. Deep enough to leave an indent in my skin to the point it was clearly noticeable with my medium length hair. The indent caused the hairs to be misdirected. (See diagram below). It looked odd, kind of like I had been wearing a hat without ever wearing the hat. I actually had several hair stylists try to comb it out and they ultimately realized what is was once they noticed the scar's width. Needless to say, getting a haircut was aggravating and a bit embarrassing.

I'm not sure what causes this indent. However, I'm going to guess it's caused by Dr. Shapiro's closing method. He uses, or at least on me used a single layer closing. Where he pulls the two top layers of skin together and stitches them. Dr. Charles uses a two layer closing that pulls the flesh under the skin together and then the top layer of skin together. This I imagine leaves no gap under the top layer of skin for an indent to form. I can also tell you that the scar already feels different. There is no dip/indent and it is already less noticeable.