Coalition Surgeons

M&M · #1 **Top** 10-05-2009, 05:38 PM

I'm back from Minnesota and proudly sporting 1105 new grafts in my hairline, so I couldn't hold back any more and wanted to share my story and some photos to give back to this community that has helped me so much over the past few years.

Stats:

1's ??“ 541
2's ??“ 492
3's ??“ 72

1105 total grafts = 1741 total hairs

First, a little background: it's been about 3.5 years since my last procedure at SMG which did a great job of hiding my old Bosley mini and micro grafts in the hairline, which was the primary goal of that procedure. I've also continued to respond well to Propecia and Rogaine, so my crown and mid-scalp is holding up quite nicely, which gave me the confidence to add some more density to my hairline and to revise one side of my scar. I know everyone heals differently and clearly, my right side did not heal as well as it should have. Now, this is just human nature, but I must take my hat off (literally) to Dr. Ron Shapiro and Janna who not only emailed me, but actually provided me their personal numbers so that we could discuss my situation in detail. In fact, we spoke at length on more than one occasion. Similarly, Matt and Jason (BSpot) were also very supportive and helpful, speaking via email and phone. Let me put it this way - they are a class act organization and we discussed several options from FUE into the scar, to a scar revision to a scar revision + grafts.

I continued to watch the results come in on this site and again and again, I was impressed by Dr. Shapiro which reaffirmed why I went there in the first place. So, I decided to schedule another procedure for a scar revision and about 1,000 grafts to the hairline.

Before I get to the surgery, let me mention that I did a few things differently this time, which I'm hoping might help others as well. For my last procedure, I don't think I had my haircut for about 1-month prior to the surgery, meaning that it did a great job of covering everything up and allowed me to return to work within a week of the procedure, but I was dying for a haircut only days after surgery. I mean, it just looked messy and unmanageable. So this time, I went in for a very light trim 1 week prior to surgery with emphasis on cleaning things up, such as trimming the bangs and around the ears while leaving sufficient density and length in the donor areas. I'm sure my hairdresser was thinking to himself "what a bizarre styling request this is"!!

Then, on I traveled to Minnesota, stayed at the Country Inns in Bloomington, which I highly recommend, as they were very courteous, have a free breakfast (cereal, toast, juice, coffee, waffles, etc.), and I opted for a King Size Bed with flat-screen TV.

Back to the procedure: On the day of the surgery, I arrived shortly after 7:30, where some pre-op photos were taken. I'll be honest, even though this is not my first HT and not even my first HT with SMG, my heart was still beating at twice its normal pace and I was quite nervous still. But, as soon as Dr. Ron walked in, greeted me and shook my hand, nearly all of my fears went away. I immediately knew I was in good hands. You just know that he is looking out for your best interests.

We discussed my goals and my expectations and he started the hairline and temple work planning. My donor was still rather tight, so although I have sufficient donor for further procedures as required, I would definitely need to do some extended scalp stretching exercises in advance.

Given that I had 1662 to the hairline already, the rough figure we targeted for this procedure was about 1,000.

The new procedure for injections is great - a couple of shots to the forehead (yes, they sting a bit). At this point, Janna walked in and greeted me and it was like suddenly being greeted by a best friend you hadn't seen in ages. Whatever 'fear' or nervousness that still remained, completely vanished at that point!

Back to the surgery... for the donor removal, you lie face down, with one tech providing a wonderful back massage to keep your mind at ease, while some further injections are done at the donor site. The strip was taken out in two sections - about 0.8 cm on one side and 1.2 on the other. Again, added care was taken on my one side that seems to be extra sensitive to stretching.

By the time they turned me around to start the hairline, I think I was already asleep - valium obviously hits me really hard! The next thing I knew it was noon. It was honestly shocking how I remained passed out for the entire morning session. No more valium for me, so, I stayed awake (groggy, but awake) during the afternoon session. Again, what impressed me was that Dr. Ron only made incisions of about 50-100 at a time so that he could continually refine the hairline as he progressed. It is true artistry at work.

By around 4 or 4:30, surgery was completed, some post-op photos were taken and I was back at my hotel where I ordered some room service. There was no pain whatsoever - just a bit of tightness in the donor region.

The next day, I got up, had some breakfast and returned to SMG ... without a hat!! Yes, I was able to style my hair so that it covered up the donor and recipient areas one day after surgery! Now mind you, I'm not sure it would pass a visual inspection by friends and family, but I felt comfortable enough eating breakfast and going to the office without a hat.

Once again, I was back in caring hands of Dr. Ron and Janna - Dr. Ron took some more photos, inspected everything and Janna gave my hair a wash. I remained in town for one more day so that Janna could once again wash my hair and ensure that everything was looking great.

The next challenge was getting ready for work, which was only 6 days post-op again. But, given the length of my hair and the quality of work performed, it went off without any issues whatsoever.

I'll continue to post updates as time progresses, but don't look for too much over the next 3-4 months as not much happens in the first few months anyway and I'm quite confident that I will retain the title of a 'late bloomer'.

Once again, thank you to the entire SMG Team - you are a class act organization!

M&M

Bill - Managing Publisher · #2 **Top** 10-05-2009, 07:33 PM

M&M,

It's always exciting for me to see the helpful contributors and supporters of this community get back in the chair and share their results online.

It sounds like everything went well, a typical positive experience at an excellent clinic.

I'm sure this result will really help to refine your hairline.

Heal and grow well my friend - and keep us posted.

Bill

M&M · #3 **Top** 10-05-2009, 07:42 PM

Thanks Bill! I'm pretty excited at this point and I'm also hopeful I'm suddenly a fast grower!

Severn · #4 **Top** 10-05-2009, 09:35 PM

Great write up! I had no idea you were just one week ahead of me on my procedure October 12th.

Did you request sutures or did Ron just decide in your case it was better to use them instead of staples? I prefer sutures myself but not if there is a higher risk of shock loss. I got the impression during my consult in July that they still use both so I'm not quite so sure how they decide on which to use.

the B spot · #5 **Top** 10-05-2009, 09:46 PM

Hey M...happy for you mate....It was nice to get you back in the chair to get the final results you were looking for.

Your hairline is going to look amazing with the added density.....your a lucky fella' for sure.

Can't wait to see the updates!

Jason

thanatopsis_awry · #6 **Top** 10-05-2009, 09:59 PM

I'm jealous!

You're going to look oh-so-mint -- congrats ahead of time! And that suture closure really does look great. I'm very happy for you, and look forward to seeing this ultimate refinement session grown out.

M&M · #7 **Top** 10-06-2009, 02:51 AM

Thanks B-Spot, Than and Severn! As you can tell, I'm very pleased with the procedure and will continue to update the photos as I progress.

The sutures are two-layer, one that dissolves and one that needs to be removed. I know Dr. Ron still uses both and it likely depends on each patient as to what he feels is best (ie. tightness of scalp, size of procedure, etc.), but perhaps Janna can shed even more light on the discussion.

Severn - you'll be in great hands next week. I look forward to your updates.

M&M

AJKV · #8 **Top** 10-06-2009, 07:32 AM

Hi M&M,

did Dr. Ron shave the old hairline to add new grafts or did he move down with the new 1100 grafts???

The work looks very good as usual...!

Janna · #9 **Top** 10-06-2009, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by M&M:
The sutures are two-layer, one that dissolves and one that needs to be removed. I know Dr. Ron still uses both and it likely depends on each patient as to what he feels is best (ie. tightness of scalp, size of procedure, etc.), but perhaps Janna can shed even more light on the discussion.M&M

That's correct, M&M.

AJKV,

a row or two of existing hairs at the hairline were trimmed down to about 1cm length. No shaving down. M&M was able to comb his hair forward the day after surgery to cover the work. He expected to wear a hat for a week but he came in the next day for a shampoo looking like a school boy (of course I had to tease him) and was quite happy not needing a hat.
In hindsight, I wish we would have taken a picture with his hair down as opposed to combing his hair back to show the graft placement. Will try to remember that on the next patient.

M&M · #10 **Top** 10-06-2009, 03:18 PM

Janna,

I'll see if I can't replicate the look and take a photo ... just so you can tease me again!

But honestly, it was quite shocking (and liberating) to be able to go 'hatless' 1 day post-op!

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