wylie

Well, decided to do a little write up on my experience with temporary SMP. What I liked going into this was that all sessions would be done where there is existing hair, and no matter the end result, if I didn't like it it would (hopefully) disappear. So I started with the scar repair, which is done in three sessions. This required a 1000 mile round trip journey three times to Minneapolis to the Shapiro Medical Group to see Nicole. We did the first session on the scarring, waited a month, did the second, and shortly thereafter, around a month later did the last session. These took place in 2014, around Spring time. I would give this strip scar repair SMP a grade of: B- The result was definitely better than average, I include the minus because there are two pencil thin scars fairly high up, where the hair is thinner, that still are visible even after repeated attempts to camouflage them. No shaving of my hair was necessary, my scars are all nice and flat, and the sessions generally took all day. The cost for three sessions was $800.00. I can shave my hair in back to a #1 guard, when previously I was shaving to a #1.5 guard. I feel more confident about the scarring in back after these sessions and would recommend it based on cost and efficacy. The color blending is very good, yet there is still some evidence of scarring visible. Personally, there is no substitute for adding hair to your scars. SMP is less effective but a perfect compliment for the FUE. Now, on to the scalp. This turned out terrible. I have had multiple procedures on my head, most of them the dreaded "mini-grafts" of the 90's, which are just smaller plugs than found in the 80's. I've had Dr. Umar remove some of the more larger and egregious grafts, which has left me with a scalp that may resemble the appearance of a golf ball in places. Between these and all the beard hair added to hide them, my scalp is pitted and very uneven, making SMP a real challenge. So I want to make clear that my case is NOT going to be the same as someone who has never had a HT and is seeking temporary SMP, and it is also NOT going to be the same as someone how has undergone a state of the art FUE or FUT procedure as is currently used today. My grade for the scalp result: F This was a failure in my estimation, one month after the last procedure. The unevenness of my scalp led to what is being called "fading", where areas of my scalp are darker than others and quite noticeable if the scalp hair is parted away to reveal the effects of the ink. Another thing is the color, I notice a definite blush tint to everything on my scalp. This is likely the result of the ink fading and becoming darker in areas, giving it a more bluish tint. Not only do I not like the color but I don't like how it has "faded" and left islands of darker blue amongst the more natural looking and less bluish tint on other parts of my scalp. However, thanks to my scalp hair, none of this is really noticeable, so I'm not stressing. And my bald crown was untouched by the ink. It's possible none of these problems would have occurred on my crown as it remains unmolested by the HT industry, and will remain that way. Only doing half of the scalp is not how they normally do these sessions, but it's how I wanted mine done, as a bald crown being inked was not something I felt would look natural. The scalp procedure is all three sessions, and is done over two consecutive days, with a third day of follow up in a month, The normal cost is $1600.00, but there was confusion about this and I balked when it was time to pay, and we settled on a lesser amount, which added a further level of respectability and ethics to the Shapiro Medical Group. As far as Nicole is concerned, her grade is an A She is very attentive and detail oriented, and does her labor intensive work with a great deal of concentration and stamina. She is an artist and does permanent cosmetics for women (on her own) as well as temporary SMP for men at SMG. She is also a great person and a lot of fun to talk to. I enjoyed my visits with her. I wouldn't hesitate to try this on the scalp if it were not molested as mine has been, and if your strip scars are fairly flat, this will make a very noticeable difference in hiding them, although I cannot say that you will achieve full camouflage if you have not done FUE first. The FUE of around 700 grafts was the best camouflage I've had done to date. And what's great about all this is you can try SMP and if you don't like the results, no worries, really. It may work fairly well for you in some areas, like my strip scars, and may not in others, like the scalp, so you can continue on with your treatments in some areas and not the others. So that's my experience with temporary SMP.

I've seen necrosis in a patient that was dense packed, and his hair is forever ruined. And it happened from a very well respected doctor who is recommended here. You do have a higher chance of necrosis when you dense pack due (one reason being blood pooling below the scalp), although giving specifics in regards to the amount of hair per sq. cm. that increases this risk cannot confirm. I can understand having less density at the hairline in some patients, but this patient is one who would benefit from a dense hairline, as he shows no signs of future loss and the transition would be seamless. He will likely need a second pass.

That's quite noticeable at 3 months. You will not damage your grafts if you shave the recipient area of the remaining hair, at this point I would definitely do this. If you can get a prescription skin medication from a dermatologist that would work on lessening the redness I would look into it. It's not a big deal really, you didn't get butchered and you have plenty of donor for a second pass, 1700 grafts at the hairline may not give you the density you are looking for, you will simply have to wait and see.

That's a common fallacy, that these doctors "didn't know what they were doing", but they knew exactly what they were doing, they were disfiguring people for the sake of financial gain. And it still happens today. Just putting on a white lab coat and graduating from medical school does not mean you will exhibit ethical behavior as a medical professional. And that includes doctors today, including some who were once recommended by this website.

Your babbling is barely coherent, but from what I can interpret, you are back here with the same dumb assed questions, like requesting a picture where beard was extracted, like this is something that has never been done before. You mention Google, but apparently, haven't quite figured out how to use it to find pictures people have posted of their "mandible" after beard extraction. Here's a clue: Thousands of people have had this done, and I've yet to see anyone post pictures of scarring that resulted. Let me help you get started: https://www.google.com/#q=Beard+Hair+Extraction

That's an excellent suggestion. SMP would be the route I would take with the scars. As far the work so far, he will have a much improved hairline with this added, and the option for more beard hair behind the hairline can be done in Round Two. My first repair was 1500 grafts into the hairline, I had only a bit more scalp available than this guy. The downside was harvesting scalp hair around extensive scarring only makes the scarring more apparent. The addition of around 700 beard into my strip scars made a huge difference, and when I added temporary SMP on top of it, it allows me to cut my hair in back to a #1 guard. Repair on patients like this usually starts at the hairline, then the real work begins. I was in a somewhat similar situation as this chap (without punch graft scars and the scalp reduction) and my crown did not have the scars as his does. When you have this level of damage, you have to know what areas to address, and which ones you have to leave alone. I'm fortunate enough to leave the crown alone, and this guy should probably do the same. I find crowns to be black holes when you need work from the hairline all the way back (and if you have the finances, some folks can go all the way south) Round Two: Assess whether or not beard is needed from hairline to mid-scalp. I think it will be necessary, so add beard grafts to this area. Ultimately I believe he will need, at minimum, a few thousand grafts, I did around 4500 in a similar area, and my hair is much more fine than this guy's, so he would need less. I personally worry about the transection rate when adding a large amount of beard hair to a smaller area of scalp. Round Three: Finish the top and determine whether or not to address the punch scars in the donor region with more beard. Also, consider adding some density to the plug grafts located near the crown. It may be cosmetically the best course of action to leave them there and add hair around them, if this is feasible and not requiring too many grafts. Removal of these plugs will leave more tell-tale scarring. And also I would be consulting with HIS about SMP into those plug scars. Kudos to Dr. Lorenzo for working on such a challenging case, massive improvement thus far!

Research indicates that the increased blood flow from spanking it is quite good for hair growth, especially right after surgery. For best results, you should spank it 3-6 times daily for the first two weeks, lessening the frequency over time, but maintaining at least once or twice a day for the first 9 months after surgery.

Imagine all those grafts placed at the FRONT of your scalp and along your hairline, and that is what my first ever hair transplant looked like. Your third picture brings back a lot of memories (not pleasant ones, either). My one and only saving grace from that nightmare (which I repeated multiple times, when there were no forums like this one) was that I went into the procedure with a receding hairline and insisted that my hairline follow it's original pattern. Thanks to Dr. Umar it has been slightly lowered while still remaining in a completely normal receding pattern. Had I of gone Elvis with the hairline design than repair would have meant a complete removal of these offensive 'mini grafts'. The problem I see here is that you may experience further hairloss and the grafts will become more obvious, meaning that covering these up with a finite resource of scalp hair will leave little hair left over for frontal work. You have to use your remaining resources wisely from now on. I would not suggest a course of action to you, I would consult with qualified repair surgeons (not all surgeons are as experienced as others in this field, so be aware just because someone has a great body of work, it may not be in repair) and consider all your options, including removal of these mini-grafts.

It takes the membership to make it happen, as the powers that be (for reasons that remain unclear) remain opposed to this happening. Thanks guys for your input.

Most readers of this forum (and all the long term members) know that Bosley represents the lowest common denominator in hair transplantation. Pretty much as bad as it gets. I wish you luck in your legal pursuits, you are facing a very uphill struggle, this entire industry is locked up tighter than a frogs ass. You might wish to review every document you signed prior to your surgery. There are extremely few cases to date of successful lawsuits against botched surgeries, unless the results cause necrosis or a similar level of disfigurement (and there are two cases I know of pending, neither yet resolved, the outcomes still in doubt).

This patient would have benefitted from having his head shaved all the way, in the pictures the contrast between SMP and his hair is quite obvious. Either way, his problem is solved now.

I've never heard of them. I would be careful about what you are getting into, you might want to wait this one out and do more research. You are playing with fire and might get burned, please be aware of that.

So, how are things coming along at this stage? Any changes at all thus far? I take it you were upfront with your co workers about what you did? Or have you kept it a secret from them? Have you changed your opinion on your result after having more time to think about it? Time will tell if you need another pass to get the result you are after. You certainly made the right choice in going with FUE

Any updates mate? Have you gone back to work yet?

Drew, would you mind sharing some of the details about your SMP? Did you have this done in California by Dr. Pak? Are you happy with the color? Is this permanent of temporary SMP? Do you have any plans for more SMP or another HT? I'm also curious as to what the cost was, if you don't mind sharing. Cheers.

I would first off suggest to you no more strip surgery. You simply don't need any more scars in back, and you also don't need to lose any more donor in the back as well. If you maximize harvesting all your donor in back via FUE then you are going to thin out this area and make your FUT scars that more noticeable. While I know that beard hair works great in the scars, I also know that it is a great donor source as well. From your pictures you look like an excellent candidate for beard hair, provided your beard donor is sufficient. You have a large area to cover and have scalp hair already there so what you need to do is add volume and density to your scalp hair, and by utilizing beard hair you do not deplete your scalp hair any further. If I were in your shoes, I would only use beard hair from now on. You may need to soften your hairline and that can be done with your existing scalp donor. While Dr. Umar is the man, I have seen some good results from Dr. Bisanga as well. From my observations Dr. Bisanga is very cautious and takes a far less aggressive approach than Dr. Umar, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. This type of approach often benefits the patients more than an aggressive one. But Dr. Umar has so much repair experience that his aggressive approach is backed by the requisite skill in repair that no one else possesses to his degree. I know from my experience that Dr. Umar can extract, and his technicians can implant, 1500 grafts per day. I have had over 5000 grafts extracted, all from below the jawline, although my last session was primarily right on the jawline, as my neck is about depleted of beard grafts. I would inquire as to how many grafts both doctors think would be needed fill in your scalp area, and at this time I would leave the crown for later until you have gotten to results you are seeking from the hairline back to the crown. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

Thanks for the update Drew, there were a lot of people who wondered about you and we appreciate you taking the time to come back and tell us how you're doing. The problems you have been dealing with certainly does put hair loss in the proper perspective. I'm glad to hear they have finally diagnosed your illness and you have started taking medication for it, from the sound of things you are very lucky to be posting. I hope your health continues to improve and that, once you've got that sorted out, you keep us posted on any future developments with Dr. Umar. Best of luck to you.

I don't think you have the density you want for your hairline, but with only 1700 grafts, that is not going to provide a lot of density regardless. The good news is that you are entirely able to get to where you want with your hair. Many people on this forum don't have their expectations met after one surgery, that is not at all unusual. And since you have good donor, filling in your hairline is not a big deal. I think most of your angst comes from the fact you are more of an "ugly duckling" then you expected and since it's all hairline work, it's pretty hard to conceal. The good news is you shaved your head, and you can shave your recipient area down real soon as well. Even with your existing hairline and your head shaved your hair does not make people wonder what is going on, from the pics. you've posted it does not look out of the ordinary. But achieving your final result will mean getting another pass. You need to find a surgeon who does hairlines. Here is an example of a hairline repair that was far worse than any repair you will need, in fact, you only need more density. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/170023-repair-1600-graft-dr-hakan-doganay.html Consider yourself lucky, I was way more butchered than anything you will ever see, and even after spending a small fortune your hair looks way better than mine. I'm not trying to diminish how you feel, hairlines are the one area all of us want to look perfect. I know how I felt when I got mine repaired, it was a high relief, one beyond words. You will surely get there yourself, that is not an issue. The issue is how, and when. Do your research this time and make sure the doctor has done the kind of hairline work that you expect and that you both agree on a plan of action before you sit down in the chair for surgery. You'll get through this, I promise. I'd just keep my head shaved close for a few months until growth begins and in this time I would do a lot of research.

The only other doctor who I would trust on a level commensurate to Dr. Umar is Dr. Bisanga of Brussels, Belgium. I'm not including Dr. Mwamba because I have not seen enough results by him to judge. I have seen a few repairs by Dr. Bisanga in the past that I found really impressive using beard hair, but there are others learning to utilize this resource every day, and in a few years, I expect to hear a lot more from these doctors.

Now that I've watched the video I see that this patient has really been thru the ringer. Numerous plugs, 6 scalp reductions, and a Frechet expander to boot! :eek: But even thru all that he was fortunate compared to many patients who took a similar journey and lost most of their surrounding hair and were left only with plugs. He must be thrilled that he no longer has a barren mid scalp that is covered in scars. I can't say enough about beard hair, it not only was a lifesaver for people like myself but is a great (and under utilized) resource for people with thin, fine hair who not only want more hair but want more volume and body to their hair. This guys journey is a blueprint of chasing one bad result with yet another and making a bad situation worse. He is very lucky he didn't go Norwood 6 as a result of the trauma he was putting his head thru.

I would like to see some pre-op pictures of this patients hair before it was shaved down. I always hate making comparisons when the pre-op photos are of a shaved head and the post-op photos are of the patient with his hair fully grown out. It's hard to tell in the pre-op photos what condition his hair was in (I'm not sure but I think I detect a scalp reduction) , but the post-op photos are indeed very impressive. Love to see repair results like these.

Even with your hair wet and you pulling it back it is hard to see your scar. It would be helpful if you are seeking advice to see your hair in its natural state (not wet and not pulling it back around the scar) But from the one picture where the scar is barely visible, I am of the opinion you don't need to do anything about it. After spending years on these forums one thing I have learned is that people obsess over their looks to the point where they grossly exaggerate the extent of their problem. And often times, there isn't even any problem. And this can then cause a real problem as they panic and rush into having a repair procedure, oft times creating a problem when one didn't exist before. I can't offer any surgical advice based on your pictures.

First off, was this permanent SMP or temporary? I'll assume at this point this is temporary SMP. I'm very glad to see you stayed high with your hairline, but the perfect symmetry of it does make it look like something created by someone rather than what nature will give you over time. If it is temporary, it's not that big a deal, but if you are doing permanent ink, you have to be very careful if you are going to work on it to give you less symmetry. I would be very careful in what you do next, i.e., don't let someone practice on your head creating a hairline. Find someone very experienced in hairlines if you are doing permanent SMP.

I've actually been thinking of doing this for one of my ears. I do think your ears look fine and you are borderline as to whether you should get this done, but if it will make you feel better, go for it. And your hair looks great! Also, I'm curious what the cost for this is? Also, do you know whether or not you can only get one ear done? Best of luck! (I was stationed at Schofield Barracks for three years, 1989-1992)

It can be a problem presenting cases like this one when the degree of difficulty is on another plane versus the non repair patient who is an excellent candidate for a HT and has results that can be presented in glossy close ups for all the "oohs" and "ahhs" normally reserved for the 4th of July. In the real world of a repair patient who has depleted resources, this is not only a remarkable improvement, it is a life changing result. The "alternate reality" between those people who didn't even need a HT but opted for a small procedure with a world class surgeon versus someone who had multiple botched surgeries, has an entire scalp to cover and has almost no scalp hair available for repair is a tale of two worlds. Shaving your head is not an option after multiple strip procedures, and opting for a toupee over surgery is what you do when you can't visit Dr. Umar for repair. I'd like to see the patient take some better photos with better lighting and provide them to Dr, Umar.