Scribe

I had several small procedures beginning in 1988 and running through 1992. I'm now 58 and the transplanted hairs are growing as good as ever. I must add that I may be in a minority, but I was very happy with the old way of doing things - plugs and minigrafts. Maybe it's because I'm tall and the transplants I had in the past were mainly in the crown area but they are virtually undectable and best of all thick. Five months ago I had 1700 FU with a top notch surgeon to establish a new and lower hairline and the verdict is still out. The surgery went well and I had absolutely no pain post op and growth began very quickly. My concern is the new hairs have a long way to go to properly blend with my existing hairs, especially after I exercise and sweat. However, from what I read, five months post op is a bit too soon to worry about coverage, thickness and the like.

I disagree with many in this thread. Dr. Shapiro's literature says it's OK to resume regular exercise such as running 10 days after a transplant and five days for mild exercise. I just had 1700 grafts from Dr. William Parsley in Louisville and his literature states you can resume light jogging after five days and regular running after seven. In my particular case I was running six miles daily within a week of my surgery. I'll comment further on Dr. Parsley in the future but he really deserves some kudos. Although he isn't mentioned much here, he is considered a mentor and role model by many of the younger transplant surgeons. What has really taken me back is after my surgery I had no pain whatsoever - absolutely none. And I can't really say there was even any tenderness in the donor area. I believe much of that is due to Dr. Parsley's surgical skills.

Over the past year I've seen several transplant surgeons in my quest to find someone I could trust to best fulfill my hair restoration goals. One of the surgeons I consulted with had himself undergone hair transplant surgery. It was the best piece of hairline restoration I had ever seen. He told me it was performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro of the Shapiro Medical Group in Minneapolis. I can't think of a better endorsement than when your competitors seek you out for their own transplant needs. So I eventually made an appointment to make the 900 mile drive to see Dr. Shapiro. I was really impressed by the entire experience - from my consultation with Dr. Shapiro (a real down-to-earth guy) and his patient educator, Matt Zupan, to the friendliness of his staff such as Cory and Kelly. My long odyssey was finally over and I put down a deposit and scheduled a surgery for 1500 grafts. But alas, due to a side effect from a running injury which made long distance travel an impossibility, I had to cancel my surgery a few weeks later. The expeditious manner in which Matt refunded my surgery fee and his suggestions on helping me find a qualified transplant surgeon closer to my home just confirmed to me that this was one class operation.

Over the past year I've seen several transplant surgeons in my quest to find someone I could trust to best fulfill my hair restoration goals. One of the surgeons I consulted with had himself undergone hair transplant surgery. It was the best piece of hairline restoration I had ever seen. He told me it was performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro of the Shapiro Medical Group in Minneapolis. I can't think of a better endorsement than when your competitors seek you out for their own transplant needs. So I eventually made an appointment to make the 900 mile drive to see Dr. Shapiro. I was really impressed by the entire experience - from my consultation with Dr. Shapiro (a real down-to-earth guy) and his patient educator, Matt Zupan, to the friendliness of his staff such as Cory and Kelly. My long odyssey was finally over and I put down a deposit and scheduled a surgery for 1500 grafts. But alas, due to a side effect from a running injury which made long distance travel an impossibility, I had to cancel my surgery a few weeks later. The expeditious manner in which Matt refunded my surgery fee and his suggestions on helping me find a qualified transplant surgeon closer to my home just confirmed to me that this was one class operation.

I had several transplants procedures in the late 80s and early 90s - plugs, mini and micro grafts - in the crown of my scalp. The transplants were performed by a local dermatogist. Back then, about the only investigative work I did was make sure he wasn't involved in any lawsuits from unhappy transplant patients. I was completely naive to situations such as shock loss, nerve damage, lack of growth from plugs, etc. After the procedures I took off but a week from my usual exercise routine of hard six mile daily runs. Funny thing is, I was and still am estatic about the results from those old time hair transplants. And my donor area was baby fine hair. Now at age 57, I'm about to have some work done on my hairline. Unfortunately, the doctor who performed by other procedures no longer does hair transplants. As a result I have consulted with some local doctors and read as much as possible on the innovations of transplants since the late 80s. But now I'm very apprehensive. I guess a little knowledge can be a bad thing - at least as compared with the past when I just naively had transplant after transplant thinking there never could be any problems - which there weren't. One of the doctors I saw recently is one of the better known names in the FU field. What really bummed me out though is I felt he told me a tall tale. Because of my previous procdures there is no good donor area in the back of my scalp. That I believe as true. As such, the doctor told me he would have to take a strip from the side of my scalp. When I asked him how common it was to use the side of the scalp, he replied very common and it occurs in nearly 50% of his procedures. Subsequent to that, both here and other venues I found it is not all that common to take from the side of the scalp. There are considerations (which he did not mention) such as the side of the scalp greys sooner and is often thinner. Luckily these are not problems in my case, but the damage was done as far as me feeling comfortable with my local doctor. I felt he was just telling me what I wanted to hear to just get a sale. Plus, he's an older guy and may not be practicing much longer. I would prefer a younger doctor who does his best in order to generate repeat business. Anyway, next week I'm traveling 450 miles to consult with Dr. Cooley. I've heard some positive things about him.

I had several transplants procedures in the late 80s and early 90s - plugs, mini and micro grafts - in the crown of my scalp. The transplants were performed by a local dermatogist. Back then, about the only investigative work I did was make sure he wasn't involved in any lawsuits from unhappy transplant patients. I was completely naive to situations such as shock loss, nerve damage, lack of growth from plugs, etc. After the procedures I took off but a week from my usual exercise routine of hard six mile daily runs. Funny thing is, I was and still am estatic about the results from those old time hair transplants. And my donor area was baby fine hair. Now at age 57, I'm about to have some work done on my hairline. Unfortunately, the doctor who performed by other procedures no longer does hair transplants. As a result I have consulted with some local doctors and read as much as possible on the innovations of transplants since the late 80s. But now I'm very apprehensive. I guess a little knowledge can be a bad thing - at least as compared with the past when I just naively had transplant after transplant thinking there never could be any problems - which there weren't. One of the doctors I saw recently is one of the better known names in the FU field. What really bummed me out though is I felt he told me a tall tale. Because of my previous procdures there is no good donor area in the back of my scalp. That I believe as true. As such, the doctor told me he would have to take a strip from the side of my scalp. When I asked him how common it was to use the side of the scalp, he replied very common and it occurs in nearly 50% of his procedures. Subsequent to that, both here and other venues I found it is not all that common to take from the side of the scalp. There are considerations (which he did not mention) such as the side of the scalp greys sooner and is often thinner. Luckily these are not problems in my case, but the damage was done as far as me feeling comfortable with my local doctor. I felt he was just telling me what I wanted to hear to just get a sale. Plus, he's an older guy and may not be practicing much longer. I would prefer a younger doctor who does his best in order to generate repeat business. Anyway, next week I'm traveling 450 miles to consult with Dr. Cooley. I've heard some positive things about him.

I'm in my late 50s and had several transplant sessions in the late 80s and early 90s. As such I've been told there is no more quality donor areas in the back of my scalp which is also very tight from the previous procedures. My doctor wants to take the FU grafts from the side of my scalp - around 1300 - to use to establish a hairline. My first question is if that is enough FU grafts? We aren't talking about a big area here since I only need my harline brought down about an inch over an area that measures five inches in width. My second question is are there any pitfalls I should be aware of using the side of my scalp as a donor area? Is it common or more rare to use the side of the scalp as a donor area. I'm assuming that at my age and the fact I have had little to no hair loss on my sides that it would be OK as a donor area. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

I'm in my late 50s and had several transplant sessions in the late 80s and early 90s. As such I've been told there is no more quality donor areas in the back of my scalp which is also very tight from the previous procedures. My doctor wants to take the FU grafts from the side of my scalp - around 1300 - to use to establish a hairline. My first question is if that is enough FU grafts? We aren't talking about a big area here since I only need my harline brought down about an inch over an area that measures five inches in width. My second question is are there any pitfalls I should be aware of using the side of my scalp as a donor area? Is it common or more rare to use the side of the scalp as a donor area. I'm assuming that at my age and the fact I have had little to no hair loss on my sides that it would be OK as a donor area. Thanks for taking the time to respond.