C. Smith

Thanks Belgiumdude and MDM. I feel almost guilty going for more when I am so happy with that which I have already gotten so far. But just a little improvement would be awesome. Thus far I have had around 4,000 FUs. But the number moved is not near as important as how they are placed. I have had very many women point out how incredibly natural my hair is and how they would never have known had I not revealed it to them. Don't even ask why I reveal it, I don't even know why myself. Maybe it has to do with how proud I am of the results. But I always give the credit to Dr. Shapiro. The way I figure it, in about ten months or so I will be looking like I did when I was a freshman at Va. Tech! Imagine that. So long as I don't act like it as well! All the best, Cliff

I checked and now I am the fourth from the last. That is at the shapiromedical.com site.

If you go to Dr. Shapiro's site and look at the before and after pics he has there, you will see me. If it has not changed from a short while back, I am the last one in the group.

Well friends, I have a scheduled appointment for my third session with Dr. Shapiro quite soon. I do want to say that the results of the first two sessions are nothing short of amazing to me, and even my cover-girl beautiful ex-fiance (don't ask) said I need no more sessions because it looks fabulous already, I think now I want to dazzle her and even myself with a bit more. And some of you know how it goes--we get enamored of a good thing and we want just a little more. So what is the consensus with you, my friends, about where to put them? I am still just a tiny bit thin in the vertex and the crown, but very natural looking for a man of 51 years of age. I'm certain I will let the doc do what he feels is best, since I know he is unbelieveably good at knowing how to make the best use of another 2,000 units. But if I were to tell him instead of simply turning him loose, I would ask for a bit more in the area of my part in the front, then spread half of the remaining in the vertex, and the other half in the crown area. Tell me what you think? Cliff Smith

Well friends, I have a scheduled appointment for my third session with Dr. Shapiro quite soon. I do want to say that the results of the first two sessions are nothing short of amazing to me, and even my cover-girl beautiful ex-fiance (don't ask) said I need no more sessions because it looks fabulous already, I think now I want to dazzle her and even myself with a bit more. And some of you know how it goes--we get enamored of a good thing and we want just a little more. So what is the consensus with you, my friends, about where to put them? I am still just a tiny bit thin in the vertex and the crown, but very natural looking for a man of 51 years of age. I'm certain I will let the doc do what he feels is best, since I know he is unbelieveably good at knowing how to make the best use of another 2,000 units. But if I were to tell him instead of simply turning him loose, I would ask for a bit more in the area of my part in the front, then spread half of the remaining in the vertex, and the other half in the crown area. Tell me what you think? Cliff Smith

For any who have read my posts and taken note of all the praise of Dr. Shapiro I managed to mention in past weeks and months on this forum, now to my pleasant surprise the good doc has placed some of my before and after pics in his new gallery of pics on his website. I am the very last happy guy in the group. Two sessions of around 2,000 each for the transformation extraordinaire! I had told Matt he could use my pics, so the surprise was not at all out of line. I'm glad to be among the host of great transformations he chooses to display. Cliff Smith

For any who have read my posts and taken note of all the praise of Dr. Shapiro I managed to mention in past weeks and months on this forum, now to my pleasant surprise the good doc has placed some of my before and after pics in his new gallery of pics on his website. I am the very last happy guy in the group. Two sessions of around 2,000 each for the transformation extraordinaire! I had told Matt he could use my pics, so the surprise was not at all out of line. I'm glad to be among the host of great transformations he chooses to display. Cliff Smith

Willy, You've come to the right place. Within this forum you should easily be able to come up with at least a handful of superb HT doctors who you might want to consider. Simply read as much here as you can and it will all unfold before you. Yu will not fail. Do consider traveling in your considerations because often the surgeon you want most to do your work will be in a location far away from where you live. For example, Minnesota and Vancouver should not be ruled out just because they are far from West Virginia. Travel will end up being a very small part of the overall efforts you will put toward ending your baldness woes, even if you do go far or wide. Cliff

You'd be hard pressed to find anywhere a hair transplant consultant with more experience and capability than Matt Zupan. He, like the entire practice at SMG, is top notch. As far as the doctor issue, Shapiro certainly sees his patients before surgery. Not only does he "meet" with them, he spends an inordinate amount of time in the design and approach of the surgery, especially the hairline. I never expected to have lines drawn and redrawn to the point of perfection like was done on me, all in an effort to replicate a natural and appropriate look for my age, and extent of hairloss. I've had two procedures done by the good doc. My HTs are perfect. They could not have been done any better. If I had chosen to go elsewhere because Matt is not a doctor, I might not be as pleased with the results. Sure, I might be just as pleased, but it is not possible that I could have been more pleased, as one cannot improve on perfection. Perhaps like many others, early on I wondered why there was virtually nothing but super comments on this site about SMG. Yea, I surmised that maybe because Pat had his procedures done there.... But now I know, from my own experience, that it is because the practice is as good as everyone says it is. It really is as simple as that. Cliff

Hello Graft King of London, I spent one day on London some year or so ago, visited some sites, took a picture crossing Abbey Road... had a bloody great time. Then took the Chunnel(sp?) to Paris. Anyway, my HTs from Dr. Shapiro took place even before the London jaunt--August 2001, and March 2002. So I have had well enough time for my hair to have grown back and filled in and blended well. It looks just fantastic if I do say so myself. It was the best dough I've ever spent. Anyway, very best of luck to you and Michael, but I assure you you will not need any luck as you have chosen your HT Docs quite wisely. Cliff

I did get the dry flaky scalp but I did not experience the folliculitus. For the dry flaking, I would try T-Gel shampoo and go ahead and get a little rough with your shampooing action. Those FUs have been in place for a month and they are healed and there to stay. You should be able to press and rub as much as you like. I think the folliculitus is quite common and I don't seem to remember reading from anyone that there were a bad result from treating them in any fashion that you would have even without having had the HT. And you can trust SMG to tell you what is best, as they are top notch. Very best of luck to you. Cliff

That's great WW. I've met Dr. Charles and seen some of his work--really fantastic. I know he would not be with Shapiro if he were anything other than one of the very best. Shapiro did both of my procedures and I could not be happier. I have no doubt you will be just as pleased with your results as I am with mine. Use the Graftcyte and keep us all posted! Take care not to lose any of those precious FUs. I lost a couple, and it almost makes you want to cry. Don't break down and comb your hair until after at least a week (just to be safe). And don't pick or scratch at your head unconciously while on the phone like I did. The actual hairs will no doubt be gone in a matter of weeks, leaving the follicles to mature and produce a strong healthy hair in the weeks to follow. So be patient and wait for what seems an eternity. It will all come back, just like the Doc said it would. I wish you all the best. Cliff

Hey again M, I never posted any pics, but I told Matt (at Shapiro) that he can show them or send them to anyone he likes. He would likely attach a couple of before and after pics and email them to you. I am a most un-photogenic guy, and I am selfconcious about how I look in posed shots, so I have never seemed to find a pic that looks anywhere good enough to post, let alone a pic to give to someone who will study it like crazy. I did manage to get a replacement driver license since my old one really did not look like me anymore. And I kept the old one to show disbelievers. But those mug shots really look awful and I cannot share them and feel good about it. I did lose every bit of my transplanted hair. After a few weeks I looked exactly like I did before the procedure. It was perplexing because it made me feel a bit like all the effort and expense was for nothing. Of course, logic tells you that this is not so, but we all fall victim to mental twists, especially about these kinds of things. So what I can tell you right now is that you should not worry about what happens to those hairs early on, after they are healed and in place, of course. You are well beyond that stage. But in 4 to 6 months you will see why all the effort was worth it. And then, in the months to follow, those hairs are going to mature and blend in and begin to fall in place just the right way on you head. THAT is when you will begin to feel like you are not bald anymore. In about a year, if you are at all like me, you will have to get used to having some hair fall in front and hit your forehead. I had not experienced this feeling in so long that it has taken some getting used to. I think I have needed to desensitize to that feeling so that it does not feel akin to an insect or such against the skin. This is an amazing issue to have to deal with. So hang in there. You are on your way. And yes, I know what you mean for feeling good about who you chose to do your HT. There is no doubt he is among the very best. No one has ever thought my hairline was anything other than by nature, unless I told them. And even then they never seem able to believe it at first. Hey-just last night, at a party, three women whispered to one another just after finding out that I was over 50 years old. Then one of them embarassingly came to me and looked back at the others and said "should I tell him? .... oh well.... we were saying that you look nothing at all like you are 50, you look like you are 40 maybe, certainly not 50." I smiled and said "you are too kind, but really--I am 51, not 50!", knowing the whole time that Dr. Shapiro deserves all the credit for this little shot in the ego for me. But I never let on that something specific happened which took ten years off my age! I never felt I had to. You've got alot to look forward to M. Cliff

Hey M, I tried it some year or so before my first HT and I found it to be a waste of money. Maybe it does a little to combat loss or restore that lost from chemotherapy, but not from MPB, at least in my opinion. Save your money for another second trip to Minneapolis! 5,000 fu's does wonderful things for guys like you and me. Heck, 2,500 does too for that matter! Take care, Cliff

No, actually I live in the Washington, DC area. Doc's brother also lives in this area. That's why Doc brought it up--said I should drop in for a visit to check out his work. So I did. Keep us all posted on your progress. It should be around the three month mark that you see some very welcome growth, though with me the full effect took over a year. But at five months I had seen enough to know I wanted more of the good thing, so I scheduled my second session right then and there. Cliff

Hey M, That's great that you went also to Dr. Shapiro. You say you hope you will be as pleased as I am and I can tell you that I know you will. You might be so happy that you will want one more session to fill in a little more in the front and add a little in the crown. Doc's brother lives near where I live. He got the worse end on the gene side of things and did not keep the same great head of hair that Ron did. He was probably a 5 or so on the scale before Ron performed some of his magic on his scalp. Now he looks great. He actually owns a little sandwich shop and I met him and had lunch at his place. Not too bad. But the interesting thing was that as leaving I said, "boy, I sure hope all my transplanted hair grows and looks as good as yours". His reply to me was "what do you mean? There is no doubt that it is going to grow like mine and look as good as mine". He said "don't worry, you will be one very happy guy". And he was right. So, I say to you what Doc's brother said to me: Don't worry, you are going to be a very happy guy. Oh yea, I don't think the 1mg or so of Propecia will do any measurable good on our prostates! But I may be wrong. Cliff

I myself have partaken and had no problem. My doc says she looked it up and it is fine. She says that there are some drugs which are taken specifically for prostate problems which would pose a problem with Cialis, but they do not include Proscar or Propecia, but some other type entirely. By the way, what an unbelievable thing Cialis is! 48 hours is what I experienced. My doc says she is going to prescribe enough for me to take it every third day, for continuous possibilities! I like this doc and she is good looking too! But imagine that, feeling like I'm 20 years old again (I'm 51), and looking like it up top too, thanks to another fine doc, Ron Shapiro! Cliff Smith

I think you are making a wise decision to wait for the doctor who you feel best suits your needs. I did the same and never have regretted it. Sure we would all like to get started as soon as possible once we have made the decision to actually do it. But this is such a very important thing that we are to live with the rest of our lives. It just makes good sense to wait that little extra to get the best. One thing you can do is to ask Matt at Shapiro, or Jo at H&W, whichever you choose, to let you know about a cancellation which may occur. That is what I did and it actually worked out great. Got me in much sooner than I otherwise would have. I would likely do the same for my third, if and when I choose to do it.

I was talking to my girlfriend of the moment and not thinking about my new grafts when I absentmindedly began to pick at the pesky scabs that remained at around day three or so. Moments later, I felt that same trickle of blood like you, which ran all the way down to my neck. I threw the phone down and rushed to a mirror and saw how I had stupidly pulled out two very dear units from the middle area of my scalp. I stopped the bleeding, then tried to put the one I could find back in. It is impossible to do. Then I proceeded to fight back tears! Shortly after my second procedure, I stupidy went before a mirror and thought that my hair would look better if it were combed. I learned, after disloding one dear trooper, that one should NEVER comb his hair until the scabs are long, LONG Gone. When I do my third, I plan on losing none. We'll see.

The post about Propecia in Canada cinches it. He needs to be kicked off right away. Most of us take this stuff seriously, and yea, maybe we joke just a little. No harm in that. But when someone obviously is f'ing around with the rest of us, we shouldn't put up with it. He's probably got a full head of hair, too!?

Most of the people who are close to you, either personally or even at work, will pick up on how you yourself act about your situation. I made up my mind that I would not be timid or apologetic, and that I would not act embarassed about having taken to "cosmetic" surgery. Indeed, I seemed to detect a slight bit of envy in the words of some of my friends and associates, like perhaps they wished they too were as easily able to undertake something like this. However, I have found myself to be almost too open about my surgery. My kids, and my fiance, have asked me to quit telling strangers. They are right, of course, that one can go too far with one's enthusiasm. I sure have. I am trying now, actually, to just forget about it all. Like someone said some time back--"boy, I just can't even remember what you used to look like". I liked that comment very much. And every time I see the Bosley commercial when the guy wonders whether his barber will recognize him, I chuckle to myself, because that thought is absurd, but also, because there is a little bit of truth to it. Just a tiny bit! I have seldom had so much fun with anything in all my life. To have gone through this transition and to have shared it with so many, it really has been a joy. I highly recommend it to anyone. Well, anyone who is a good candidate, and anyone who takes the time, and puts out the effort to do it right.

Just about the time you are starting to forget about checking on, or thinking about their arrival every few minutes, that is when they will finally begin to show themselves. It is far worse than waiting for Santa to arrive, I can tell you! But don't you wish you could go to sleep and wake up.....

Seems like many have said it is best to wait an entire year, and I believe some docs insist. But it must really depend most on the elasticity of the donor area, and the results of the first surgery insofar as the need to place FUs in between the earlier placed ones. I waited only 8 months and my Doc had no problem with that. I was so happy with the results of the first HT that I simply could not wait. Of course, if the doc told me to wait I would have done so without question.

Fantastic, Bluesman. What a great story. Having been in the same chair I can say I agree with all you have said about SMG. Dr. Shapiro is top notch. I bet you couldn't be happier about his "artwork" at your hairline. Sounds like you got the usual red carpet treatment. And, you should be quite tickled to find from such an authority that you have a huge abundance of doner available. Now, just be patient. The very best is yet to come. Just wait till you see the new look of all those transplanted hairs so well blended with the existing. It is a great feeling indeed. Thanks for sharing with all of us.

Relax. You are on your way to having your hair back. And you have chosen one of the very best to do the surgery. He will use his artistic talents to your amazement. At this point the only real hard part is the long wait before significant results show themselves. Pick up one of those Mall of America caps at the big mall just down the road, while you are there. I have two of them! Good luck.... though I promise, no luck is really needed!