csofrank

Congratulations Mike. I had mine done at SMG with Paul as well back on 6/15/06. I have already noticed growth starting at the 10 week mark. Dr Paul is great like you said. Just keep your head out of the sun and you will be fine. cso

M&M Yes I did it to lower my hairline. I have no visible thinning in the area that have hair. But I do have a tiny area in my vortex that I asked the doc to fill in while he did my frontal work. It is undetectable if I lower my existing hair. I check myself in the mirror about twice a day when I go pee. There hasn't been a case when I found out my hair was not able to cover the HT hair. I live with my roommate now. There is onetime after I got out of shower and combed my hair back. He wanted to talk to me and I had to show myself. I don't think he even noticed with my wet hair and combed back............. How is ur transplanted hair now? Have they all fallen out? cso

UPdated the album with 1 week post photos. NOt much different I just feel like take more pics........

JakeVig, Yes, we can certainly compare each other's development in the coming months/years. It will like looking at a mirror, LOL. As for work, prior to returning, I purposely shampooed my hair, blow dry with cool air and really checked my self in the mirror as to how well my front hair can cover the HT. To my delight, it really did hide it well. If someone were to look up from beneath, he/she would see the a little big of the short HT hair but not much else. There is no way anyone can tell I just had HT done 5 days ago. (at least that's what I tell myself LOL) Also, my hair grows forward so letting my existing hair cover my entire forhead was quite normal. I started with this look a week before I had the HT so ppl around should not notice any suddent change. It's been three days and I am less neverous everyday now. As for the length of the HT hair, yeah I asked that question a couple of posts earlier. I really felt they grew longer in the last week. And I still have the hope of them never fall off coz they seem to be sitting in there very well. Every morning I check my pillow to see if I find any of the HT hair on the pillow, but no. They are in there fine. :-) I am really tempted to cut my hair real short to match the HT hair after I get my suture off. And if those HT hair don't fall off like I hoped, then I am golden! The numbness continues. The bad part is the numb part does not apply to the donar area so it hurts everytime it comes into contact with anything. Did Ron explain why he used sutures instead of staples? Or why he didn't use suture that resolved on its own? cso

Hey Jakevig, Yeah I think I recall seeing someone on the morning of 6/15 coming in and getting a shampoo. That's probably you. :-) I am already back to work today without a hat and no one said anything obviously. I think my scabs have just started to shed. As for healing, I think it went really well too. I had no bleeding and no swelling. Redness is not visible with all the grafts still in place. In fact, if someone looks closely, he/she would just think these new hairs are part of my receding hairline. After shampoo though, that's when all the fatty tissue become apparent. They look more like zit (or flakes) and I had to fight the urge to finger pick them clean. As soon as they are dry, they become invisible again. I have not started rubbing them to get rid the scab during shower. I will start doing that after day 10 just to be safe. NOthing on the donor scar, I only sprayed graphcyte on it the first 3 days and now just trying to ignore the discomfort. How about numbness? I still have about 1/3 of top scalp feeling numb. Also the transplanted area is a little numb too. How about you? Cso

Slick, I also had mine done by Paul. I don't think it would have made any difference even if it was Ron himself doing it. Your scar look real good and I think if you don't tell anyone, then no one would have the slightest idea. The only discomfort is the donor scar still feels quite tender. Sleeping is problem especially. HOpefully by the time the suture is removed the pain will stop. I am 6 day post op and waiting for the new hair to shed.......

I have come across other ppl said their transplanted hair did not completely fall out. I am wondering what is the chance of that? I am also wondering if the newly transplanted hairs grow at all before they fall out. I don't know if it is my imagination, but these transplanted hair seemed to have grown longer already after one week. Anyone? cso

Yeah, it was red alright the first night. But now most of it is gone. I think I could have gone back to work in 3 days if I wanted to. Very happy to say the least. To me this is quite amazing since the doc was able to reach a density of close to 35 to 40 FU/CM. Just looking at it, that looks more denser than my original hair..... Now comes the itching part. It is especially frustrating since part of the scalp is still numb. So even if I scratch it, it doesn't feel anything............... Graphcyte does help a little but does not relieve the itching 100%

ok, I have just uploaded my pics on the site. Not sure if this is the right way to post it though. http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums?a=albumtopi...1050642&f=2566060861

1500 grafts by paul shapiro on 6/15/2006

Yeah, thanks alot guys for the encouragement and suggestions. Unfortunately due to my work I have to be back at around 6 days after surgery. I have no idea what I will like then. It's either hair combover or hat........ I went in for shampoo this morning and both paul and ron commented how good my HT looked as well as the stylist there. This morning I found some blood stain on the pillow. I had no idea that I had bled sometime during the night. Oh well, hopefully the cleaning lady is used to HT customer like me. LOL..... cso

Just did 1500 grafts by Paul Shapiro today. Like all of the other patients who have posted on this site, the experience was wonderful (well, since this is my first HT, I have no one experience to compare to) Anyway, the surgery was smooth and the only pain was when they injected the anesthesia at both the donor and the transplanted area. Because what I needed was merely lower my hairline, Paul was able to increase the density to somewhere close to 40 grafts per sq/cm. Before the procedure, Ron came in and also added his input on what the approach is. And even thruout the day he popped in and either commented on the procedure and towards the end he even took over the predure himself which I was extremely grateful. Even though Paul hadn't been in the HT business for long, but his skills and approach I would say are not much different from Ron. I feel very comfortable with the eventual result. so this is the first night after the HT. My scalp still feels numb. And even that, i can start to feel the tightness of both donar and transplanted area. Hopefully the next fews days all these will ease and I can get back to work. Using two mirrors, my donor area is completely covered by my hair and even I cannot tell something was done to it. As for the front, the transplanted hair sticks out about 1/3 cm from the scalp. No swelling or bleeding so far so that is good sign. Again my concern is how do i conceal these transplanted hair a week later when I am supposed to return to work. Even though my hair is long but ppl can easily see thru if they stand close enough, especially if the scabs has not fall out yet. Since i work in an office environment where shirts and tie are a requirement, I will certainly draw some curious looks if I put a hat on. But if i can't hide it with my hair, i will just have put the hat and and lie about the reason....... Believe me, the fews days leading up to the HT, I couldn't help but asking myself am I crazy? Am I going to commit the stupest thing to myself? To have some stranger operate on your head if the outcome is back, it is I who have to deal with the consequence for the rest of my life, not to mention the impact to my self confidence. But anyway, I stuck it out and there is no turning back. I just can't wait for the new hair to shed so I can start my life new. Photos will come in the next few days. CSO

Just did 1500 grafts by Paul Shapiro today. Like all of the other patients who have posted on this site, the experience was wonderful (well, since this is my first HT, I have no one experience to compare to) Anyway, the surgery was smooth and the only pain was when they injected the anesthesia at both the donor and the transplanted area. Because what I needed was merely lower my hairline, Paul was able to increase the density to somewhere close to 40 grafts per sq/cm. Before the procedure, Ron came in and also added his input on what the approach is. And even thruout the day he popped in and either commented on the procedure and towards the end he even took over the predure himself which I was extremely grateful. Even though Paul hadn't been in the HT business for long, but his skills and approach I would say are not much different from Ron. I feel very comfortable with the eventual result. so this is the first night after the HT. My scalp still feels numb. And even that, i can start to feel the tightness of both donar and transplanted area. Hopefully the next fews days all these will ease and I can get back to work. Using two mirrors, my donor area is completely covered by my hair and even I cannot tell something was done to it. As for the front, the transplanted hair sticks out about 1/3 cm from the scalp. No swelling or bleeding so far so that is good sign. Again my concern is how do i conceal these transplanted hair a week later when I am supposed to return to work. Even though my hair is long but ppl can easily see thru if they stand close enough, especially if the scabs has not fall out yet. Since i work in an office environment where shirts and tie are a requirement, I will certainly draw some curious looks if I put a hat on. But if i can't hide it with my hair, i will just have put the hat and and lie about the reason....... Believe me, the fews days leading up to the HT, I couldn't help but asking myself am I crazy? Am I going to commit the stupest thing to myself? To have some stranger operate on your head if the outcome is back, it is I who have to deal with the consequence for the rest of my life, not to mention the impact to my self confidence. But anyway, I stuck it out and there is no turning back. I just can't wait for the new hair to shed so I can start my life new. Photos will come in the next few days. CSO

Hi BobbyN, I am also thinking about getting HT done with SMG (although with Ron's brother Paul). In any case, when you did 1200+ grafts, how much area did that cover for you approximately in terms of sq cm? Thanks. CSO

Has anyone heard of QHR or the term "Omni Graft"? This is from a French company called Medicamat and it is FDA approved. Supposedly, this "machine" has numerous benefits. 1. Dissecting is now done by this machine, human hands is no longer involved, which avoids damaging the graft and shortens the time the grafted hair is exposed and shortens the surgery time too. 2. It will allow close to 100% growth rate since grafts are not touched by human hand. 3. Slits is not done by the surgeon's hand, it is now done by a "hand piece" which has the benefit of the correct angle of the graft insertion. A picture of the machine is here Unfortunately, the site is in chinese... Appreciate if anyone can comment on this. cso [promotional link removed and photos from site injected into post by forum moderator - Robert]