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Showing results for 'Dr. Ron Shapiro'.
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Howdy everyone. Been lurking for a bit and finally got the procedure done myself. 28 years old been on finasteride for 2 years and minoxidil 18 months with some regrowth, but it wasn't going to bring it all back so I decided to get a transplant to take me the rest of the way. How do you guys think it's progressing? Personally, I'm extremely impressed with how quick everything is healing. I like the hairline design as well. I attached a picture of my regrowth, pre op pics, immediate post op pics and pics from today (day 6). Let me know what you guys think and if you need more details! The plan originally was to repair the frontal band and the temple points, but we decided to wait on the temple points, except for addressing the weaker one, because that's where I had the most regrowth and it could be liable to recede again. I hope to wait until about 35 to see how everything is stabilizing and address the temple points at that time if my hair is holding up well. If not I'll address the midscalp and crown or what is needed at that time. Let me know what you think of my plan as well. Thanks! -
Journey & Decision After thorough research, I decided to pull the trigger and get a HT at Shapiro Medical Group with Ron Shapiro and Dr. Josephitis/Dr. Joe. SMG spent many hours over the phone with me and answered all my questions. I emailed Ron Shapiro directly and Matt Zupan (Patient Educator), and they always addressed all of my concerns/follow-ups. Matt called me very frequently to check up on me and has pretty much become a friend at this point. The front office staff, Matt Zupan (Patient Educator), and everyone involved wanted to make sure that I had the best care. They did not care about making money or getting the "sale" as they honestly wanted what was best for me. They even recommended other great clinics if I decided not to go through with SMG. SMG was the only clinic out of the 5 places I contacted who actually walked me through the concept of donor supply, how to look at the future for when my hair loss progresses and what I can do to prevent more hair loss (medication, exercise, etc.) They have a concept to not blow your entire "wad" with a mega session and see how the first procedure goes to ensure you can make revisions later on and assess where you are. This approach makes perfect sense and gives the patient more donor supply to fine tune their hair in the future. I originally booked with Dr. Diep but decided to back out due to a lot of recent negative reviews and concerns about his ethics. Please review my other thread here and post here about the situation. I want to give a major shout out to aaron1234 for coaching me through the whole process and recommending me to go through SMG/Ron Shapiro. This is the best decision I have ever made and I would not have gotten this far without him. Aaron, thank you for everything, I owe you. Also, notable mention to jimcraig152 for giving me some solid advice regarding my surgeon decision. Shapiro Medical Group (SMG) Review This clinic is hands down one of the most professional clinics I have been to. It was an amazing experience and I felt right at home at SMG. The staff/technicians/doctors are so genuine, caring, and love what they do. Ron Shapiro took his time with me to explain the process and decisions behind the HT and hairline. The staff and technicians were very friendly and we got along well. They introduced themselves and wanted to know more about me. They cared about my personal life, we joked/laughed together and we were all just having a great time during the procedure. This made everything so much easier. Oh, and everyone is super organized which is a huge plus. The office itself is super clean and everyone followed COVID procedures to a t. Great atmosphere and I felt 150% comfortable being there. Pre-Surgery Appointment Mattt Zupan (Sales Consultant) took my before photos in their studio. Pamela (receptionist) took my food order for the procedure day. I got to meet with Dr. Ron Shapiro and go over our game plan. He let me ask as many questions as I wanted and was very patient with me. He also showed me many photos going over this donor supply philosophy and why he likes his conservative approach versus mega sessions. Before Photos Surgery Day 1 Got in at 7:30 AM and was greeted by Pamela (receptionist). Dr. Josephitis/Dr. Joe greeted me and had me change into their provided shirt. He asked if I had breakfast and I had not. He immediately got me some breakfast/energy bars and apple juice so that I was not hungry. Dr. Joe cut my hair (in their barber room) short enough, but left enough hair so that Dr. Shapiro could see how to properly blend my grafts with my hair loss appropriately. Went into the surgery room and my vitals were taken. Everyone introduced themselves and I hit it off with the staff immediately. They got me blankets, water and let me pick out a movie on the Apple TV. The technician (Vicky) numbed my head so we could make the incisions. They used massagers/vibrator on my face to distract me. Ron Shapiro came out and began to make the incisions on my head. He did roughly 2000 incisions. Hole sizes were predominantly meant for 2s and 3s. Some 1s for hairline. Ron took his time and did not rush the incisions which was awesome to see. He did them with intent and purpose. I got numbed in the back of my head for extractions and received a back massage + face massage for a distraction. SCORE! Dr. Josephitis came in to perform my extractions and got roughly 1620 Grafts from the middle section of the back of my head: 674 3's | 782 2's | 164 1's Dr. Ron came back out with the technicians and supervised for a bit while they began to implant the grafts. He also made some additional incisions for 1's that Dr. Joe extracted PS: Lunch was amazing! Lunch Break Photos End of Day 1 Surgery Photos Surgery Day 2 Front staff fed me again, provided blankets, movies, etc. Technicians numbed me again for procedure Dr. Ron made an additional 1000 incisions in anticipation of harvesting a total of 3000 grafts. Ron took his time and did not rush the incisions. Dr. Joe finished my extractions on the sides of my head and was able to extract a total of 1600/1700 grafts and exceeded my expectations. Dr. Ron and I were pleasantly surprised here. This surpassed our planned 3,000 graft count and hit 3332. Dr. Ron came back and added more incisions to cover the new grafts. He finished my hairline and advised his technicians on where to place the 1s, 2s and 3s. EDIT: Ron injected 5cc's of exosomes into my scalp which are derived from stem cells. This is supposed to be better than PRP and has major benefits from a single session. SMG has seen great results with hair growth from this treatment, and I decided to give it a shot. This exosomes were diluted to 10ccs and injected all over my scalp. You can learn more about exosomes here. End of Day 2 Surgery Photos FINAL GRAFT INFORMATION COMING SOON Summary All in all, I am super IMPRESSED by the professionalism at SMG. Ron Shapiro did all the incisions in the recipient area while Dr. Joe (Very experienced surgeon) did all the extractions. Dr. Ron supervised and helped the technicians with the implantation. Ron came to the surgery room frequently when the techs were implanting and always made sure I was taken care of. Always took his time to re-asses the hairline and make sure it looked good. Dr Ron & Joe took their time to ensure that the incisions made sense and that the extractions were super clean and spread out. Dr Ron & Joe answered all my questions during the procedure as well and you can tell they are both super passionate about what they do. I got thorough answers and learned a lot in the surgery room. The staff was super friendly and we talked about our lives, kids, family, interests and etc. Made the experience really fun. I would definitely recommend everyone who is looking for a US surgeon to go to SMG as this is a world-class clinic which provided an experience I will never forget. They made my first Hair Transplant an amazing experience and I look forward to returning if I am going to get another procedure. I left the clinic thrilled and ready for my next steps in life. The final graft count is as follows: 1’s - 663 2’s - 1912 3’s - 757 -
Hey Guys, Tomorrow I'll be talking to Dr. Devroye, he is the creator of the WAW system, the punch used by some of the world's best Konior, Hasson and Wong, Feriduni, Shapiro, etc. Some of you may not know this, but Dr. Devroye was the first European doctor to join the Hair Transplant Network well over a decade ago. The live session will be at 10am Pacific time, 1pm eastern time, and 6:00pm UK time and 7:00 pm Belgium time. Please ask your questions here, and be sure to join to ask any other questions. He is an authority on FUE and wrote many of the FUE terms along with Dr. Jose Lorenzo. -
I understand your concerns - and by the way, I wasn't suggesting you were neurotic or anything, I was just saying if you happen to be the overly anxious, paranoid sort of type then it's probably best to steer clear and not nocebo yourself into a bad state as people like this generally always tend to convince themselves of the worst, even when there's nothing actually physically wrong. Anyway, as I say, I can understand your position after reading that you've had bad experiences in the past. If you don't want to take it then that's completely up to you of course. You don't have to, you just have to accept that you're much more likely to experience further loss than if you did take it. Regarding your pic, you don't have too much more to lose on the top, no. But, you're essentially a NW5 from what I can see, however it looks like your crown doesn't dip down the back of your head at all, and your sides aren't too low, although they are dropping a bit right now by the looks of it. So all in all, based off that pic (would need to see different angles really to judge properly) you're a somewhat less severe NW5 maybe. So, although you might think you don't have much more to lose, go and look up a NW5 vs a NW7, that crown - could - easily drop another few inches deeper into the back of your head. Not saying it will happen, in fact, the fact you're 55 and it hasn't is probably a pretty good sign that you won't go that far, would be best to get examined by a good surgeon. You certainly could just go ahead with a couple of Hair Transplants and forego the meds, yes. With your age, you could well be correct that there is little left to lose, and you very well might not lose too much more hair now. But like I say, you could still progress to a NW7 in say the next 10-20 years, I have no way of knowing. If I was you I would consult with some great doctors and get their take. And get scalp examined for miniaturisation to predict future loss. A good doctor is probably going to advise two procedures a year apart; the frontal third first at probably 3 to 3500 ish grafts, followed by the crown/midscalp at around 2-2500 grafts. After this, you might have anywhere from 0-2000 grafts left for any future procedures. depends on your donor, but you'll probably be looking at being close to your limit (if you go straight FUE anyway). I don't think it is the most irresponsible decision in your case to go ahead without fin considering your age, and I imagine as long as your donor is decent and you're not clearly miniaturising into a nw7 pattern upon examination, most doctors will consider you to be an ok candidate without the fin. I would get in touch with Dr. Bisanga, Dr Bruno Pinto, Dr Ximena Villa, Dr Ferudini, Dr. Bruno Ferreira and Dr. Rafael De Freitas and get their take, but that's just my personal list of my current favourite doctors. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions of course. If you're in the States, and don't want to travel (all of those options will be considerably cheaper than US docs and just as good/better than some, but it is a long way) then look at Hasson and Wong, Dr. Konior, Dr. Shapiro, Dr. Cooley - there's more but that's just off the top of my head as I've never considered doctors over the pond.
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I believe there’s two factors, one is age. Every living person will have thin hair with age, even if you look at someone without hair loss their hair has thinned. Clint Eastwood 90 At 40 As you can see all of his hair has thinned out, the DHT susceptible area more, but still even his donor has thinned. The other factor is DHT susceptibility to the transplanted hair. Some hair may be taken from an area that is prone to thinning, these areas can be near the nape or the border of the crown. I feel with FUE there will be a portion of hair thinning, and FUT as well if the strip is taken lower near the nape. As @Dr. Ron Shapiro said some may thin more than others, it depends on how the surgeon planned and mapped out the procedure. That is why it’s important to go to a clinic like Shapiro, Hasson and Wong, BHR. They don’t just blast your scalp, everything is done with your future in mind.
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Wondering if anyone here has experience or knowledge of this clinic/doctor in Tijuana, Mexico. The doctor seems very knowledgeable and with good credentials. Worked with Dr. Shapiro and studied in Tel-Aviv under Dr. Alex Ginzburg. Does quite large sessions like this one: https://www.facebook.com/BajaHairCenter/videos/4155050177946075/ https://www.facebook.com/BajaHairCenter/videos/815244259373694/ What do you think of how that patient looks immediate post-op? He had micro-pigmentation done some time before.
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Hey everyone- On 4/1/21, 10 days before my 45th birthday, I had my first HT FUE procedure at SMG with Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Josephitis. I have worn baseball hats, combed my hair forward and painstakingly tried to disguise my hair loss for 25+ years - essentially my whole adult life. I first noticed my hair loss when I started dying my hair at 18 because I thought it was a cool thing to do. I will never forget that night in '94 when I rolled over on my pillow and a clump of hair detached from the right side of my hairline. I don't want to sound dramatic, but I was traumatized. I started taking Proscar over 20 years ago and have maintained a NW ~3.5 or thereabouts since with more recession in the front than the crown. NOTE: I recently started taking oral Rogaine in March '21 per SMG's recommendation. Despite all the insecurities I experienced around my hair, I have had a successful career and family life, but my hair situation instantly made me feel more self conscious, anxious and less outgoing. About 2 years ago, I started seeing a therapist primarily to address my biggest insecurity in life. I decided the first step was to shave my head which happened right before the pandemic at the beginning of 2020. While rocking a bald head was probably a cleaner and trendier look than combing my hair forward, I found that calling more attention to my baldness was just amplifying my anxiety. I watched Melvin's video on trying to shave your head *before* considering a transplant and it hit home with me. I had tried the shaved head option, but realized my hairline and overall thinning would bother me whether I buzzed it all off or tried to grow it out longer. This year, I decided to move forward with Shapiro Medical Group. I am about 10 weeks post-op and wanted to share my story and initial before/after pics. Mentally, I am trying to practice patience and reserve judgment as I realize that results don't start to show until 3-4 months in and final results can take 12-16 months. I am also managing my expectations as best as possible. I likely used less than 1/2 of my FUE donor supply (2500 grafts) and am open to tweaking and/or bringing the hairline down in the future assuming it can be done discreetly. What drew me to Dr. Shapiro and SMG were their natural results, track record and years of experience. It also helps that it's a convenient 15 minute drive from where I live. I know there are many doctors on this forum that do excellent work, but I never saw a Shapiro hairline that I thought looked unnatural in any way, shape or form. For me, my first priority was broadening my hairline and having it look completely undetectable, even at close inspection. After studying Dr. Shapiro's lectures, methodology, and results, I felt confident in my decision to move forward. I have learned to view my procedure as an improvement. I am not going to achieve my ideal hairline, which would have likely been ~0.5-1 cm lower, but I am hoping that adding more density and broadening the hairline considerably will make me more comfortable and confident in my appearance. I also can take some solace in knowing that I have more donor hair to work with should I still feel the desire to bring my hairline down further after the final results come in. I was never pursuing a straight hairline or trying to recapture my high school hairline, so I just have to wait and see if the first procedure will be sufficient or if I may need some additional work done to reach my ultimate goal. In terms of the numbers, I had 2530 grafts/4718 hairs (832 one hair grafts, 1208 two's, 490 three's). Dr. Shapiro did convince me to use a couple hundred grafts in the temples which were significantly receded as well, and I think that was the right decision aesthetically. Would love to hear any feedback and would be happy to answer any questions as well. I am excited for the future, but am also trying to maintain a realistic and positive outlook in the meantime... -
Hairline doctor suggestions
aaron1234 replied to Isildur's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Dr. Ron Shapiro is known as the godfather of hairlines. Definitely worth getting a consult with SMG, especially if you're in the states. -
Disaster... Lateral Hump Hair Loss at 36
aaron1234 replied to SD1984's topic in Open Hair Loss Topics
Not sure. Definitely get in touch with Matt Zupan at SMG. @hybonix might be able to help. He recently got an FUE procedure with Dr. Ron. -
Just curious how much does Dr. Shapiro charge per FUE graft?
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Dr. Paul Shapiro. Honestly no scars from them.
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We have quite a few options in the US, Dr. Konior, Dr. Cooley, Dr. Shapiro, Dr. Wesley, Dr. Gabel, just to name a few. I suggest looking at our recommendations and researching them here on the forum. Send multiple doctors virtual consultations, they're free. https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-transplant-surgeons.asp?sr=HRN
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Dr Yaker, Dr Shapiro, Dr Bauman, Dr
aaron1234 replied to Ritzy's topic in Hair Transplant Experiences and Surgeon Reviews
Out of the doctors mentioned, Dr. Ron Shapiro is without question the best. -
I recall a negative review on Dr. Yaker a few years ago, eventually the person who posted it worked it out with the clinic and had us take it down. Other than that I have never seen anything posted about this doctor. Dr. Shapiro started this community by performing an 1,800 graft procedure on @Pat - Community Publisher back in the late 90s when getting that number of grafts was unheard of, he has been consistently putting out quality results ever since. As for Dr. C, we don't mention his name for legal reasons. I have seen good work from him, but he is very pro-FUE. I would invite you to take a look at our surgeon review/patient reviews section and look up some actual reviews. Research is key, and using our forum is the best way to research.
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After speaking with Dr. Konior and Dr. Nadimi this weekend, Dr. Konior mentioned a study conducted by Dr. Ron Shapiro, an elite surgeon who actually kick started this community by performing surgery on @Pat - Community Publisher the study concludes that patients who start off with FUT first and combine FUE get more lifetime grafts than either technique alone. I thought it was pretty interesting, especially for those interested in maximizing donor supply. https://www.ishrs-htforum.org/content/htfi/29/5/local/front-matter.pdf
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From the Shapiro medical group, I see Ron Shapiro, and Dr. David Josephitis in the coalition. From reading around this forum, I see at one point Paul Shapiro was on the coalition but thent it looks like he's not there anymore. Is there any insight to this? -
Shapiro or Nadimi?
Melvin- Moderator replied to x.moonprincess.xo's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Dr. Nadimi is a great surgeon, as is Dr. Shapiro. Dr. Shapiro has a lot more experience. I don’t think anyone would say otherwise. That said, I’ve seen excellent results from both surgeons, and both are definitely worth consulting with. In regards to your case with Arocha. He’s also a very good doctor. can you please send me your name and date of surgery. I would like to reach out to him regarding your case. Communication with your surgeon is always critical. -
No, he is no longer practicing surgery full time and asked to be removed. Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Josephitis are active.
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Hasson and Wong are probably the best clinic for doing megasession hair transplant procedures, even Konior acknowledged this in our interview. Dr. Konior is probably the most detailed surgeon in the world. Great for repairs, hairlines, etc. Dr. Gabel is genuinely one of the nicest surgeons/people I’ve ever met. Ethical, skilled, and reasonably priced. Dr. Shapiro is one of the most experienced surgeons in the world. He was the surgeon who essentially started this community, after performing an 1,800 graft procedure on @Pat - Community Publisher back in the late 90s. Back then it was unheard of. You really have to examine your own case and figure out what it is you need. Do you need a lot of grafts? Do you need a repair? Do you need quality at a lower budget? All of these things will need to be factored in.
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Guys, I have gotten the green light on a very exciting live Q&A. The one and only Dr. Ron Shapiro the author and publisher of the best study we have comparing the growth rate of FUT and FUE side by side. He also states the case for maximizing donor supply by utilizing FUT first and then using FUE. There are so many questions around donor maximizing/preservation. I'm truly excited for this one guys, we're also going to have Dr. Josephitis who has been performing FUE with the WAW, Mamba systems for years at Shapiro Medical Group. The date and time is still pending, but it will happen. Let's get the buzz going guys, not often we get to speak to a legend like Ron one on one. https://www.ishrs-htforum.org/content/28/5/179 https://www.ishrs-htforum.org/content/htfi/29/5/local/front-matter.pdf
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Hello All, I have been an avid reader of this forum for several years now and want to thank Melvin and the members whom have made me feel very informed on the process due to sharing their experiences. I finally decided to get a FUE HT last year and I contacted Konior, Shapiro, Feriduni, Hasson and Bauman. I did not care for Shapiro and Baumans sales people. Feriduni never replied and Hassons sales person was very helpful and informative however Konior replied to me directly which I found important to me. As such I thought the best doctor for me would Konior in Chicago. Tbh I found his work to be the most natural looking. I also like that he does most of the work himself and uses techs minimally. However, covid hit a week after my decision and everything fell on the back burner. I recently reached out to Konior and he said he is booked till March 2021. However Dr. Nadimi in his office and appears to have trained under Konior would be available in half the time. Konior suggested 2500 grafts at $12 each and Nadimi 3000 grafts at $8 each. Is it worth waiting the extra 6 months to have the HT with Dr. Konior or are Nadimi’s results on par with Konior? After all she trained under him. I mention the pice difference but I am not motivated by that. I want the best result. -
In my opinion, if you want to maximize your donor supply you should start off with FUT, you look to be a Norwood 6. I don't think you'll follow your fathers hair loss pattern. Although, nothing is set in stone. Here is my advice, submit as many virtual consultations as possible. Get a general consensus for the price and the number of grafts you'll need. Below is our list, you can start submitting VC's now. Forum approved list https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-transplant-surgeons.asp?sr=HRN Watch these videos, they are from world renowned Dr. Shapiro, Dr. Josephitis, Dr. Nadimi and Dr. Konior. They will help you figure out the differences, and they will explain why getting a personalized consult is ideal.
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How Many Grafts Can I Get In My Lifetime?
SLA replied to Melvin- Moderator's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Good question, @Melvin-Moderator- So I have seen the number swing greatly especially with regards to FUE harvestability. As for FUE, I have heard one prominent HT doc (Epstein) say in a webinar that on most people FUE harvest ranges from 4,500-6,500; he thought more with combining FUT. Dr. Sethi said in a Q&A that average is between ~6-8k (I think he was referring to scalp donor, but I could be wrong). One forum member went for a consult with Pekiner who said he had ~3,500 FUE grafts available, but went with Ferrara who said his capacity is between 9-10k grafts. I think this number swing wildly depending on the transplant surgeon and how they measure the 'safe' zone. Might have to do on whether they are assuming people become a NW6 or NW7. On Shapiro's website, it says the average person has ~6,000 grafts in donor area. ...and then there is beard hair. Dr. Bansal estimates most men have between 3-4k available; I would guess it could be more if one does not sustain discernable scarring and is willing to forgo ever having a beard. According to her, supplementing with beard hair is super successful ~60% of the time and 10-20% it does not grow well. One test how fast the beard grows. In other words, if you shave and don't need to shave again for 3-4 days, your beard hair might not grow well on the scalp. So if you have a suitable beard, I am guessing the average male has between 8-10k lifetime harvestable grafts.
