I had stage one of my planned hair restoration (I am a class 5a Norwood) with Paul Shapiro last week. I had 3800 grafts placed principally in the hairline, midscalp and a smattering throughout the crown. It was a pleasantly painless and positive experience.
Following the procedure, I couldn't stand the george kastanza look so I opted to just shave my entire head to the same length as the grafts...you see the incision very obviously, but it just feels cleaner and better to me that way.
I am at day 6 now, and things are finally starting to calm down--the pain is almost gone, though I still have a decent amount of swelling around the staples which is still pretty painful--it feels like my scalp is going to pop open. All in all though, it has been quite a bit easier to deal with than I anticipated.
For those who have been down this road...I have a question. I am at the stage where the skin from the scalp is beginning to come off. I have noticed there is kind of a gross smell to it. Does anyone recall this? I don't have any signs of infection, but there is definitely a slight decayed/dead flesh smell as the skin is coming off. The grafts all appear to be stable and I haven't yet started to shed any of them...the smell is just a little bit disconcerting. Its not really strong or anything, but there is definitely a smell. Does anyone remember this phase?
Now for the long waiting game.
Thanks for any input.