M&M

Severn, Congratulations on doing such diligent research in advance and choosing a top doctor. I look forward to your updates as time progresses. Now, sit back, relax, get a good night's sleep, then get ready to meet a great team, including Dr. Ron and Janna. They will take care of you and then hopefully you have a lot of DVD's to help you pass the time the following days post surgery. How long are you staying in Minnesota? I know I really enjoyed sticking around for a few days so SMG could do the first few washes and check to make sure everything is perfect. All the best! M&M

That is a great transformation! Congratulations! Would I be correct in assuming all of your goals have been met? How is the density overhead or in different lights? Thanks for posting such clear follow-up photos. M&M

TTP, I commend you for coming on here and sharing your story with clear and fair photos documenting your case. There are many patients that appear to either have a great start or a slow start to their growth, but never follow-up with the final results. I look forward to the results of your meeting with Dr. A. M&M

Thanks chanyouzhe. We all look forward to your updates!

Thanks phxind! I'm pretty excited at what the future holds! And Janna - I was quite flattered being called 'young looking', if only you weren't rolling on the floor while saying it

Thanks Spex and 'Where'd it Go' - I appreciate the kind comments and will definitely keep posting updates on the progress.

Amazing transformation and I've very pleased to see you get the proper top notch work you rightfully deserve!

This is extremely impressive! You didn't shave the patient, which likely allowed him to return to work or stop wearing a hat that much earlier, plus the end result is nothing short of extremely natural and dense with a great hairline design. Great improvement, especially after only 2500 grafts! I should also commend you for the detailed presentation of photos from multiple angles as this makes it much easier to properly assess the results. M&M

Great information Thana and thanks for sharing your regimen, as it's amazing what good shampoo and styling products can do to enhance the appearance of density! I'll definitely give this go. (Copy, paste into email and go shopping!) M&M

Jotronic, Great transformation for this patient, including a very prudent use of grafts for solid but smart coverage. He does look much younger now and I like the dry 'messy' look he has going. M&M

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!

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

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

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

Great looking results Jotronic. A hair transplant and the appropriate length of hair can go such a long way! Do you know if his hair is naturally curly or did he get a perm / wave to add to his density? Either way - great outcome. M&M

Very nice work and a great example of careful use of grafts; only 3383 grafts for good coverage.

My turn to chime in! nburns1404, First of all, congratulations for doing the right thing and starting your research by asking some good questions on a very tough decision - whether to get a HT or not. I agree with everyone else here that says "stay away from Bosley". I know from first-hand experience that they do *not* have your best interest at heart and are simply there to make some money by cramming some grafts into you and hoping you'll get 'hooked' and come back for more. On the other hand, having been a patient of Dr. Ron Shapiro, I can assure you that he does indeed have your best interests in mind. He will discuss honestly your situation, outline the risks, and provide you some options that you can then ponder over (ie. no HT, try shaving and see if you like it, do FUE so you have no scar, or go for a larger strip session to maximize coverage, etc.). If you know you can walk away from Bosley, you can visit them and you'll see just how different their approaches are. But Bosley will try to hustle you into surgery the same day they 'consult' with you. If you are just a 3-hour drive away, you certainly have nothing to lose and a lot of insight to gain by visiting SMG. I'm not saying you have to limit yourself to just one clinic, but this is certainly a great spot to obtain an honest and fair assessment. M&M

The problem jaun is that many patients may get a low, dense hairline at a young age without understanding the full repercussions or commitments of doing so. Did they understand their donor hair is finite in number and if the front is packed at 70-80 /cm2 that it will only leave sparse 10-20 / cm2 for the rest, if that? Are they willing to make this commitment at 20... 21... 22? Did they understand that the scar will always be there and there is no turning back? And there is no guarantee that Propecia or Rogaine will continue to work as they get older? Did they understand that the hair transplant may create permanent shockloss when transplanting between native hairs resulting in an even thinner look than where they started? Do they truly understand all risks (and benefits) associated with a HT? Have they done their research on the right doctor and the right long-term strategy? As a former Bosley patient, I can assure you that I was *not* advised that there is not anywhere near enough donor to satisfy future balding if it was to occur, that the 'mini grafts' would not match my natural hair, that the scar would stretch and my donor could thin resulting in it becoming visible years later, and that when they planted carelessly within my native hair that I lost more than I gained? Nope. I sure wish this site and the strong voices of the people expressing their opinions on this forum were around 16 years ago, and I wish I instead went to one of the top doctors who would have turned me away by talking some sense into me. M&M

HopefulGuy, It sounds like you are looking for hair restoration on top (ie. hairline zone?) but you want to ensure that you get some temple work done as well, right? I think some of the top doctors on this site have shown some great examples recently of temple work and hairline restoration, including: SMG (Dr. Ron or Paul Shapiro), Dr. Rahal, Dr. Alexander, H&W (Dr. Hasson & Wong) to name a few. Send over some photos for an online consultation and I'm sure they can also email you some examples of their temple work as well. As another poster said, don't let distance or money steer you down the wrong path. You want to go to a top doctor so that you are not in need of a repair later, which will end up costing considerably more (in time and money). Good luck. M&M

Scorpian, I feel for you as you're obviously going through a tough time as you've had your third procedure on the same area with diminishing returns: http://hair-restoration-info.c...=973108214#973108214 http://hair-restoration-info.c...=754107404#754107404 You might want to start one thread with continued updates, such as: "Scorpian - 6 months" and that way we can converse back and forth much easier. I remember you well from the Hairlosshelp forums and your initial results from the Armani strip looked very good but his FUE work is questionable at best. Not only does it appear that few of the FUE grafts transplanted actually grow, but with his dense packing he's transecting existing hairs as well, which would explain why even the formerly transplanted hairs are falling out. I *really* hope you achieve some density in the coming months and definitely appreciate you coming on here, posting very clear photos and sharing your story. We'll be here to listen and give advice along the way! M&M

Predator, I think you may want to change the title of this thread as you should be very pleased! You went to one of the best doctors around and he clearly delivered as it looks very dense and natural. Whether dry or slicked back wet, it looks very good! Looking at it now after 13 months, how do you feel? M&M

Nothing like a clean shave and a fuller head of hair to completely transform one's appearance! It looks very good.

Bill, I think you might be over-reacting to say that Severn is 'condemning' the majority of the coalition as a result of this one incident. All he said was: "It's scary this is a coalition clinic" I don't disagree. The lack of documentation, poor photography and questionable results is a little scary. They should know better and we deserve better. He goes on to say "...there are probably only two, maybe three doctors ... that I would dare let touch my head." This opinion has likely been based on several months or perhaps even years of watching the same top doctors put out top quality work, while others seem absent. Isn't this the reason that you and Pat are now mandating clinics to post at least a minimum number of cases online every month? Nobody is questioning that you and Pat work hard to build up this forum, to add top doctors as either coalition or recommended. But let's remember what industry this is: Puig, Cleveland Hair Institute, Bosley, MHR, Armani, paid clients posing as 'anonymous' bystanders on blogs, etc. This industry is full of questionable tactics and I think Severn (and all members) have every right to question who touches their head and to equally share their feelings about it. Remember, you have removed a few surgeons from the recommended/coalition list in the past few years since I have been on here, so it is ultimately up to *us*, the patients, to decide who we would go to as *we* ultimately are held responsible with either a marginal, good or excellent result. Personally, when I factor in artistry, consistency, response to patient's concerns (if any arise), there are only a handful of coalition physicians I would trust my head to as well. There's nothing wrong with that. This site has helped to narrow down the best, and it's up to us the patient to decide who to go to, based upon our individual circumstances. Finally, I find it disappointing that you are taking an aggressive stance against a patient who is looking into hair transplants and is admitting he is "nervous". He has every right to be nervous, given all that has disgraced this industry and the large number of 'butchered' hair transplant stories still coming forward now in 2009. I can't speak for Severn, but I'm quite certain he didn't mean this in a negative way but just to say openly that he is nervous. It would almost be naive to not be a little nervous. I think it would be better to be more understanding of someone expressing his/her opinion, concerns, fears, etc. Also, it might be prudent to start revisiting some of these top clinics to ensure that their original high standards are still being held intact. It's just a thought. M&M

I know I've commented on this before, but it never ceases to amaze me why clinics would post such minimal before and after photos & details and then likely get upset at us drawing conclusions that are (certainly in this case) not favourable. 7390 grafts? On a Class III patient? Most others get by with 3-4,000. http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...-byClass.asp?Class=3 I must admit that I also dislike the wording chosen by the New Hair Institute. As only a Norwood 3, he would certainly not need 7390 grafts. It's also unrealistic to put a patient's hairline back "where it used to be when he was younger", as this uses up valuable donor despite potential further thinning in the future. In fact, the original poster identifies this by saying he wanted his hairline back "before it got any worse" meaning that his hair loss hadn't even stabilized yet. So all that I see is a lot of grafts used, for not a lot of coverage, at 'average' density on a patient still thinning and trying to play 'catch-up' to his hair loss after four surgeries. I know we've talked about this before, but it should be required for clinics to show top-down photos, immediate post-op, how far along from the surgeries the patient is, and any other details (such as explaining the "scabbing" visible just behind the thin hairline). M&M

Scorpian, Thank you for posting your results here. I actually just saw Pats205 showcase you on Hairsite as one of their satisfied clients, following your one strip and one FUE procedure. Can I ask what prompted you to get another FUE procedure? Was the overall density or naturalness not what you expected? I look forward to your updates and hope that everything grows in very well for you. How many grafts have you had transplanted in total now? M&M