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Shapiro Medical HT Experience w/ Dr Rose -- long post


vocor1

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After about 8 months on this forum, I finally took the plunge and had an HT done at Shapiro Medical in Minneapolis last week with Dr Rose.

 

Part of me says that I should keep it brief and to the point, but another part says that I like to get as much insight and info into the experience as possible from a post, so I should post similarly. I'll try not to ramble and include facts you might find useful in your HT/hairloss decision-making process.

 

I decided to have my HT at Shapiro Medical because of their excellent reputation and also their reasonable prices. Out of state travel was no big deal to me because it was more important to go to a well-respected practice. I picked this time of year because I could easily get 3 weeks off now and take it easy.

 

I decided that I wanted to meet with Matt Zupan and Dr Rose the day before surgery, which I did. We all sat down and talked about what could be accomplished and established what would happen the next morning. Over the phone, Matt and I had talked about 1500 FUs for me to fill in the temples some as well as bolster the central core. After some conversation, we decided that 1500 would be adequate, but 1800 would probably fulfill my expectations more completely. I was 100% fine with that assessment.

I really like the idea of coming in the day before. Everyone got to talk and set expectations in a completely calm environment. Even Dr Charles stopped in to take a look while Dr Rose and Matt were there. Everything seemed very well thought out which is a great feeling to have just prior to surgery.

 

Next morning and the new hairline is drawn again by Dr Rose. The anesthesia and strip removal begins a little after 9am. Just prior to that, a patient of Dr Rose's from the day before comes in (he was in for a shampoo) to thank Dr Rose and the staff and it just made things even more reassuring.

Strip removal was the "worst" part of the surgery for me. Not that it was really painful, but I think the Valium was making me feel a little loopy. I had trouble focusing my eyes on things, but I wasn't sick. After the strip was out, I'm stitched up and upright. I even fell asleep for an hour or so.

My surgery lasted almost 9 hours. I ate a 30-minute lunch, was brought some snacks, watched 2 movies, and talked with Dr Rose and the techs. I had 2 techs placing my FUs and usually 3-4 dissecting them most of the time. Dr Rose placed some of my FUs, and he placed many of my FUs on the all-important frontal hairline. Techs placed a vast majority of the FUs. I never felt uncomfortable about this fact at any time.

Matt, as well as Dr Charles and Dr Shapiro stopped in to take a look from time to time. Dr Shapiro was not in surgery that day. Needless to say, I felt very well supervised and taken care of.

 

I went back to the Hampton Inn that day very comfortable with what had happened and happy with the experience. I think everyone at Shapiro Medical demonstrated concern and professionalism throughout my procedure. It didn't feel awkward or weird at all.

 

In the end, a 26.0cm x 1.1cm strip was extracted, yielding 2200 FUs. That is about 80 FUs/cm^2, give or take. My distribution was:

531 - 1-hair FUs

1184 - 2-hair FUs

452 - 3-hair FUs

38 - 4-hair FUs

So they got 400 more FUs than I paid for, which they mainly placed within my mid-antierior region behind the frontal core.

 

My best post op advice is ICE and elevation as often as possible! Very helpful to me! One week post op and I feel great with only some tension in the suture area. I look in the mirror and even with the short new FUs, I look so more "natural" than I did before. Only time will tell if this is a success story, but the preface to the book is looking good. NW4A to NW2 is beginning to look so very exciting. And it has only just begun.

 

One other thing I'd like to add: if you decide on Shapiro Medical in Minneapolis, the Hampton Inn is top notch. Ten minutes from the airport and five minutes from Shapiro Medical. Reasonably priced and courteous and attentive to my requests (mainly, shuttle services).

 

I did have to remove my cap at airport security. That felt weird for all of about 10 seconds, then it is like nothing happened and everything moves on.

 

Long post -- I want to be as informative as possible. If you are curious about some other aspect of my experience or procedure, please just ask. It all couldn't be included here, and I'm happy to help educate others if my experiences are helpful to you. Knowledge is Power.

 

Best wishes and Merry Christmas.

 

vocor1

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After about 8 months on this forum, I finally took the plunge and had an HT done at Shapiro Medical in Minneapolis last week with Dr Rose.

 

Part of me says that I should keep it brief and to the point, but another part says that I like to get as much insight and info into the experience as possible from a post, so I should post similarly. I'll try not to ramble and include facts you might find useful in your HT/hairloss decision-making process.

 

I decided to have my HT at Shapiro Medical because of their excellent reputation and also their reasonable prices. Out of state travel was no big deal to me because it was more important to go to a well-respected practice. I picked this time of year because I could easily get 3 weeks off now and take it easy.

 

I decided that I wanted to meet with Matt Zupan and Dr Rose the day before surgery, which I did. We all sat down and talked about what could be accomplished and established what would happen the next morning. Over the phone, Matt and I had talked about 1500 FUs for me to fill in the temples some as well as bolster the central core. After some conversation, we decided that 1500 would be adequate, but 1800 would probably fulfill my expectations more completely. I was 100% fine with that assessment.

I really like the idea of coming in the day before. Everyone got to talk and set expectations in a completely calm environment. Even Dr Charles stopped in to take a look while Dr Rose and Matt were there. Everything seemed very well thought out which is a great feeling to have just prior to surgery.

 

Next morning and the new hairline is drawn again by Dr Rose. The anesthesia and strip removal begins a little after 9am. Just prior to that, a patient of Dr Rose's from the day before comes in (he was in for a shampoo) to thank Dr Rose and the staff and it just made things even more reassuring.

Strip removal was the "worst" part of the surgery for me. Not that it was really painful, but I think the Valium was making me feel a little loopy. I had trouble focusing my eyes on things, but I wasn't sick. After the strip was out, I'm stitched up and upright. I even fell asleep for an hour or so.

My surgery lasted almost 9 hours. I ate a 30-minute lunch, was brought some snacks, watched 2 movies, and talked with Dr Rose and the techs. I had 2 techs placing my FUs and usually 3-4 dissecting them most of the time. Dr Rose placed some of my FUs, and he placed many of my FUs on the all-important frontal hairline. Techs placed a vast majority of the FUs. I never felt uncomfortable about this fact at any time.

Matt, as well as Dr Charles and Dr Shapiro stopped in to take a look from time to time. Dr Shapiro was not in surgery that day. Needless to say, I felt very well supervised and taken care of.

 

I went back to the Hampton Inn that day very comfortable with what had happened and happy with the experience. I think everyone at Shapiro Medical demonstrated concern and professionalism throughout my procedure. It didn't feel awkward or weird at all.

 

In the end, a 26.0cm x 1.1cm strip was extracted, yielding 2200 FUs. That is about 80 FUs/cm^2, give or take. My distribution was:

531 - 1-hair FUs

1184 - 2-hair FUs

452 - 3-hair FUs

38 - 4-hair FUs

So they got 400 more FUs than I paid for, which they mainly placed within my mid-antierior region behind the frontal core.

 

My best post op advice is ICE and elevation as often as possible! Very helpful to me! One week post op and I feel great with only some tension in the suture area. I look in the mirror and even with the short new FUs, I look so more "natural" than I did before. Only time will tell if this is a success story, but the preface to the book is looking good. NW4A to NW2 is beginning to look so very exciting. And it has only just begun.

 

One other thing I'd like to add: if you decide on Shapiro Medical in Minneapolis, the Hampton Inn is top notch. Ten minutes from the airport and five minutes from Shapiro Medical. Reasonably priced and courteous and attentive to my requests (mainly, shuttle services).

 

I did have to remove my cap at airport security. That felt weird for all of about 10 seconds, then it is like nothing happened and everything moves on.

 

Long post -- I want to be as informative as possible. If you are curious about some other aspect of my experience or procedure, please just ask. It all couldn't be included here, and I'm happy to help educate others if my experiences are helpful to you. Knowledge is Power.

 

Best wishes and Merry Christmas.

 

vocor1

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Great post. Thanks for all the info. Kinda funny/strange about the hat. I bet the security guys were sorry they asked.

 

I'd love to see before & after pics 10 - 12 months from now. Here's hoping they're incredibly good.

 

Heal well; grow well and happy New Year!

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Vocor:

 

Congratulations! You made a very

wise choice with Dr. Rose

 

I have one word of advice

for you- patience.

I forgot how important

it is.

 

Good Luck!

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I will be patient and optimistic. I've gotten a quick peek into what I hope is the end result (or better) right now, and I like what I see.

Tough to lose all those new soldiers, but they'll be back and stronger than ever in 4-6 months.

Thanks to all here for sharing the knowledge.

 

vocor1

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Vocor1,

 

First, from one Denverite to another, congratulations. I hope your results are fantastic.

 

I'm interested in whether you've experienced any shock loss at this time?? And if so, where.

 

Did you go in to see Dr. Rose the next day? Do they shampoo you the next day?

 

Bummer about the hat at the airport...call me vain...but that bothers me.

 

Thanx...again congratulations.

 

-Midnite

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midnite:

Thanx for the well wishes. It is appreciated.

I read many of your posts enroute to my HT decision. Thanks for your many open and insightful posts.

I would say that I am shock free for now. I'm 12 days post op today, and just got my stitches removed.

I have lost ball park 25% of my transplanted grafts. Lose them through combing and washing hair, but mainly from massaging out the scabs. But these have all been short, transplanted hairs and not longer ones that still grow amongst them.

In the donor area, the only hairs that have fallen out at the ones wedged into scabs I've removed. That really isn't shock either.

I've been on finasteride for about 5 months now. I fortunately didn't shed any from taking that either at any point. Maybe I caught a break.

I saw Dr Rose the next day and got a shampoo at Shapiro Medical. Everything seems to be proceeding fairly smoothly so far. I'll post some picts in the New Year.

I hear you about the cap removal. That was a bit of a bummer, but 3 security guards saw me sans cap. It was a bit nerve-racking for 20 seconds. The security point is very small (3 lines), so their isn't much opportunity for prolonged exposure. In Denver, they didn't ask me to remove my cap pre-HT. Denver would be worse because they have many more lines and more people at the security point and it is more "open". Minneapolis' point is more closed in and cluttered. Still, I was glad when the cap emerged from the scanner. It wasn't too bad -- didn't spoil the overall process, I'd say.

Glad to see another Denverite here. Best of luck in the New Year. I'll be on the slopes in a week or so!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a hair transplant from DR.Rose 7 months ago and I cannot be happier with the results.I was a norwood 6 I've had 2300 grafts done and the results are remarkable. THe results are so natural and I am very happy with the density.I decided on DR.Rose on the basis of his credentials he is at the top of his field.I travelled all the way from hawaii and choosing DR. Rose was the best decision i ever made.I am having another procedure done in february to fill in the crown.This is the best money Ive ever spent.

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Hey Mehani:

 

Glad to hear of your great results! Would you do us (and Dr Rose) a favor? PLEASE post some pics. I don't think I've seen any pics of Rose's work. I'm also a 6 and would love to see what kind of density I should expect after 1 session.

 

Thanks.

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I had a procedure at the Shapiro Medical Group one month ago and I had a good experience similar to that of vocor1.

I recommend staying at Hotel Sofitel, a luxury 4 star hotel 5 minutes from the clinic. Call the hotel and ask for the price the internet discount services charge, which is about $100-$120 a night. They have a shuttle and two excellent restaurants.

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I don't have any long term picts yet. Those will be the ultimate testiment to Dr Rose's skill and my aesthetic improvement. That will take 6+ months to see.

In the meantime, I'm working on getting a site up to show some picts.

I got a lot of satisfaction looking in the mirror about 1 week post op. I think things looked a lot better. Right now, I look a lot like pre op. But some soldiers refuse to leave the battlefield still.

Anyway, I'll post some picts of Dr Rose's work on me. Make your own assessments and conclusions, but again, we cannot assess my result fully until all the hairs are in for good. Keep that in mind as I will post follow up picts hopefully on a monthly basis at least.

 

vocor1

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HI Vocor1-

 

I'm glad things have worked out well for you so far. I had my initial consultation with Matt last week, spoke to Dr Shapiro for about 20 minutes also. Both were very informative and professional. I'm about 75% sure I'll proceed with it, still a little nervous about shock loss, doing a little research on that. I'm about a NW II right now. Dr Shapiro suggested about 1500 grafts, 300 going thru the frontal area past the hairline. That's where I fear the shockloss from. They reassured me that it shouldnt be an issue though. By all accounts his office seems to be on the short list of the elite.

 

I thought that was funny you mentioning the hat in the airport. I actually thought about that since I travel alot, and was considering driving from STL just for that reason! Kind of stupid but you wouldn't believe all the details I've racked my brain with this situation.

 

Good luck with the results and hope to see pics in the future.

 

tkotko

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You posted:

 

531 - 1-hair FUs

1184 - 2-hair FUs

452 - 3-hair FUs

38 - 4-hair FUs

 

Is that considered normal? I had about 2200 FU transplant done also. Can I reasonably conclude that my total hairs approximates yours? From the data above, it looks like your 2200 FU transplant yielded about 4400 total hairs. Is it usually a 2:1 ratio?

Comments?

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The average is 2.0 hairs per FU but can range from 1.6 hairs to 2.8 hairs per FU. Since it takes about 9,000 to 10,000 hairs to create the illusion of a full head of hair the more hairs per FU the less FU you will need to create this illusion. Yes, its an illusion cause your scalp originally had 80,000 to 100,000 hairs at one time. So for example if your hair density is 1.6 hairs per FU you would need approximately 5600 to 6250 FU @ 4.00 PER = $24,000. If your density is 2.5 hairs per FU you would need 3,600 to 4,000 FU.

Of course there are other characteristics that will determine your density like fine or course hair, color of hair and the hair shaft diameter. If you have alot of 1 and 2 hair grafts and not enough 3 and 4 hair grafts for the central area behind your hairline most of the recommended doctors on this site will use coupled FU'S to add some density to the central portion of the scalp. I have been researching transplants for a few months now and I still don't know what a coupled FU is? Most of the doctors using all FU's will say its cut under a microscope and maintains the follicular family but I suspect its a fancy name for a minigraft. If there is a doctor who reads this maybe he / she can explain the difference between a coupled FU and Mingraft. If the two grafts are cut under a microscope and are approximately 1.00 mm to 1.25 mm what is the difference between a coupled FU and a minigraft?

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I met with Dr. Rose last week in Tampa. He is extraordinarily thorough in explaining realistic results and the procedures. There was zero pressure to do anything other than perhaps be informed. I sincerely felt that he was interested in helping me regain my hairline IF I SO desired. He even drew an approximate hairline so I would know what to expect. While I was convinced I was a NW5A, he was a bit more optimistic. Bottom line; he is very professional and if I proceed, he's the man! - HepCat

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