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in 1997 I beqan with the Lewinburg formula which resulted in marginal improvement in my rapid rate of hairloss. By 1999, it was clear that Lewinberg was not the answer. I went on proscar which slowed progression and even seemed to grow a little hair. Unfortunately, I did not keep good photo records because I was simply interested in my own progress and knew nothing of an internet community that might be interested in viewing my successes and/or failures along the way.

 

In addition to Lewinburg I tried many other topicals including retin-a, azelaic acid (skinoren), minoxidil 5% and copper peptides. It was always the case that I could see a little progess at times, but the general trend was downward. The hair on my crown grew thinner and whispier until it did not cover my skin adequately. The frontal area was especially thin and I was headed toward a completely bald front end within two to three years if I could not come up with some better solution. The crown area was not far behind.

 

Knowing little about transplants and not being on the internet, I saw a surgeon in Chicago in Oct 2001. He did 900 transplants in the front third of my scalp. It looked like crap for a year and his hairline work was terrible. Hairs were not random and they were spaced too far apart.

 

In June 2003, I tried Lipoxidil 1.5 (a liposome based minoxidil with retin-A) Several doctors told me there was no reason to believe this product would help. I applied it to the crown of my scalp daily. On the frontal area, per instructions from the manufacturer, I used a spironolactone product with zinc in a liposome base. The results were astounding. I grew at least a couple of thousand new hairs front to back within six months. My appearance was markedly improved. However, the perimeter of the tranplants, the hairline area, did not benefit from these drugs. So, I opted for more transplant work with Dr. Sharon Keene in AZ after much investigation of surgeons available. Initially, I planned to have her only repair the hairline, but after discussion, I decided that she could go with 1300 more transplants in the frontal one/third area to achieve consistency of density and a permanent solution.

 

I am waiting for Dr. keene to send me the before pictures. I belatedly bought a digital camera in AZ after my surgery in order to track my progress.

 

I am planning to set up a web site that will include old polaroids dating back to 1995 and with Dr. keenes photos. Eventually I hope to show all of you the changes that have developed. Right now I'm in the ugly shock fallout phase which sucks, but I've been there before. Now it's just a matter of waiting time. I continue to use the Lipoxidil products and they seem to be accelerating the regrowth post surgery. Not to mention, these products have completely improved the density and hair shaft diameter of the hairs on my crown. So I will continue to use these products and delay, or even completely avert transplants in the crown area.

 

I'm new to digital photography and posting photos so I hope this goes well. These photos are just a start and I will work to get some decent before photos posted as soon as possible. For now, I think it might be interesting to see how I looked post surgery for those who have concerns about the aftermath of surgery.

 

PS: Comparing Dr. Keene to my previous surgeon, the skill, soft touch and steady precision that Dr. Keene showed during the surgery just blew me away. Dr. Keene is truly a talented surgeon, in my opinion.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:28 AM.]

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:29 AM.]

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in 1997 I beqan with the Lewinburg formula which resulted in marginal improvement in my rapid rate of hairloss. By 1999, it was clear that Lewinberg was not the answer. I went on proscar which slowed progression and even seemed to grow a little hair. Unfortunately, I did not keep good photo records because I was simply interested in my own progress and knew nothing of an internet community that might be interested in viewing my successes and/or failures along the way.

 

In addition to Lewinburg I tried many other topicals including retin-a, azelaic acid (skinoren), minoxidil 5% and copper peptides. It was always the case that I could see a little progess at times, but the general trend was downward. The hair on my crown grew thinner and whispier until it did not cover my skin adequately. The frontal area was especially thin and I was headed toward a completely bald front end within two to three years if I could not come up with some better solution. The crown area was not far behind.

 

Knowing little about transplants and not being on the internet, I saw a surgeon in Chicago in Oct 2001. He did 900 transplants in the front third of my scalp. It looked like crap for a year and his hairline work was terrible. Hairs were not random and they were spaced too far apart.

 

In June 2003, I tried Lipoxidil 1.5 (a liposome based minoxidil with retin-A) Several doctors told me there was no reason to believe this product would help. I applied it to the crown of my scalp daily. On the frontal area, per instructions from the manufacturer, I used a spironolactone product with zinc in a liposome base. The results were astounding. I grew at least a couple of thousand new hairs front to back within six months. My appearance was markedly improved. However, the perimeter of the tranplants, the hairline area, did not benefit from these drugs. So, I opted for more transplant work with Dr. Sharon Keene in AZ after much investigation of surgeons available. Initially, I planned to have her only repair the hairline, but after discussion, I decided that she could go with 1300 more transplants in the frontal one/third area to achieve consistency of density and a permanent solution.

 

I am waiting for Dr. keene to send me the before pictures. I belatedly bought a digital camera in AZ after my surgery in order to track my progress.

 

I am planning to set up a web site that will include old polaroids dating back to 1995 and with Dr. keenes photos. Eventually I hope to show all of you the changes that have developed. Right now I'm in the ugly shock fallout phase which sucks, but I've been there before. Now it's just a matter of waiting time. I continue to use the Lipoxidil products and they seem to be accelerating the regrowth post surgery. Not to mention, these products have completely improved the density and hair shaft diameter of the hairs on my crown. So I will continue to use these products and delay, or even completely avert transplants in the crown area.

 

I'm new to digital photography and posting photos so I hope this goes well. These photos are just a start and I will work to get some decent before photos posted as soon as possible. For now, I think it might be interesting to see how I looked post surgery for those who have concerns about the aftermath of surgery.

 

PS: Comparing Dr. Keene to my previous surgeon, the skill, soft touch and steady precision that Dr. Keene showed during the surgery just blew me away. Dr. Keene is truly a talented surgeon, in my opinion.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:28 AM.]

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:29 AM.]

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i can't seem to figure out how to add photos without adding new posts. Pat, please change this if I've made a mess of things.

 

Here is a photo of the excision area the day after surgery. Not pretty, but I'm sure it will continue to improve. Dr. keene used a double closure.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:30 AM.]

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Not pretty, but I was pleased to see so many grafts. The "droplets" in my hair are saline solution that I applied religiously in order to soften drying excess blood. It was a very effective way to keep my scalp from getting horribly scabby.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:31 AM.]

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Here you may be able to detect a little puffiness in the forehead. This lasted only a day. Per Dr. Keene's advice, I always kept my head elevated above my heart to prevent fluid accumulating at the sitT of trauma. I also iced my forehead and donor area every two hours. Not fun, but I preferred that inconvenience to having a big fat head. I also wrapped my forehead in an ace bandage everynight to prevent migration of fluid into the forehead area. this seemed especially effective in preventing swelling. I also slept upright for five nights to take advantage of gravity. All of these measures seemed to keep swelling to a very slight degree.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:33 AM.]

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Most of the scabs fell away. I believe the frequent cleaning with saline solution, along with the use of tiny incisions led to the rapid disappearance of scabs. Slight redness remained, but I was thrilled to be able to walk around without a hat so shortly after surgery.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:35 AM.]

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This was the only notable swelling I had. It occured on maybe day 3 or 4 when I woke up in the moring. It seemed like the tightly wound ace bandage around my forehead pushed the fluid down toward one of my eyes. I guess the fluid must migrate somewhere. Once I removed the bandage, the swelling in my eye resolved within a few hours and did not recur. Added benefit: A free coffee at starbucks because a sympathetic clerk asked what happened to me and I just said "oh, an unfortunate incdient. I'll be okay.'

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:36 AM.]

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I'm even impressed myself. Not a bad hairline eh? How's that for a natural look?

 

i grew the chin stubble so that people would say "something looks different, did you grow a beard?" Believe it or not it worked. No one commented on my hair, but several people said, "the beard looks good. It makes you look much younger."

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 02, 2003 at 12:14 PM.]

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Not a great shot, but it shows you just how far I've come in 9 years. And, keep in mind, between 1994 and 1997 things got much worse.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 03, 2003 at 04:39 AM.]

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just to show you how far i've come. I know it's too large, but if you move in on my forehead you get a good look at how little hair I had up front back then.

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Thanks for the kind compliment

 

Now I'm in the miserable shock fallout phase. I've got photos in my camera and I will post those shortly. Obviously, this is not all a bed of roses and I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression. It will probably be a year before I regrow all of the transplants and the lost hair from shock fallout. But, I'm very confident that this will work out well. One other comment, just as an aside. Some people say you can't judge your surgeon until a year or so has passed. But, I think anyone can see that Dr. Keene's placement of the grafts and her detailed attention to aftercare gives me much reason to be optimistic. No guarantees of course, but her work looks damn good, don't you think? I think I am going to wind up with a very natural looking result.

 

Sorry if I posted too many photos. I really wasn't sure about how I was supposed to do this. Any suggestions will be welcome.

 

Once again, I want to thank Pat Hennessey, Arfy, Jotronic & Futzy(who both showed real guts and gave me the courage to go forward and expose myself), also uncjim, agent x208, Vocor, NW, Harry Lemon and many others too numerous to name offhand for there active, honest and vigorous commitment to helping us baldies. All of you, including some I have not mentioned have contributed enormously to my understanding of the hair transplant process and I will always be grateful for your advice, friendship and goodwill. I know we bicker at times, but most of us are here because we really care and want the best for one another. Thanks to one and all.

 

Now that my face is out, i'll put my name out too

 

Joe

 

Matt Leavitt - eat your heart out! I should explain - I saw him in 1993 at his office in Newberry Plaza (Chicago). I was thoroughly unimpressed and am now ecstatic that I declined the surgery. He had suggested maybe 500 grafts for about $7000.00 if memory serves me correctly. Everytime I see his smiling face and enthusiastic demeanor on one of those infomercials, I think back to his bland, barely interested demeanor during my consultation. All in all he spent about 5 minutes with me after keeping me waiting close to an hour for my appointment. He also had me talk with a consultant who reminded me of a hairclub salesman. It was certainly nothing like what he portrays in his commercials.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 02, 2003 at 12:05 PM.]

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 02, 2003 at 12:11 PM.]

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 02, 2003 at 12:12 PM.]

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 04, 2003 at 01:04 AM.]

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Paul148 aka Joe

 

good job in your post...sharing your experiences helps everybody....thats why I share mine with others here...now we get to wait for the little suckers to start growing in....your doc was Sharon Keene, is she the same doc that works with Shapiro on MN??..I think she is...either way...you look great....good luck and great attitude!! aloha

Experience:

6 HT to date.......wish this forum was around in the 90's!

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Yes, Sharon Keene is the surgeon who works with Dr. Shapiro in Minnesota. I understand that she works one week per month in Minn, and three weeks in Arizona. I was influenced in the choice to work with Dr. Keene because I wrote to several physicians and she seemed to be the most attentive and I found her to be very concerned with doing top quality work. There was no salesmenship whatsoever. She met with me herself. She has an excellent physician patient rapport, but what most impressed me during the surgery was that Dr. Keene has the "gift" of a surgeons hands. Her touch and handling of her instruments almost defied normal human dexterity. The whole procdedure was just done with such precision, refinement and steadiness. I was really impressed by her skill. In addition, this was a lengthy procedure and if she was fatigued at any point, there was not the slightest indication that her energy or consistency was compromised in the least. I belive that Dr. Keene is a first class surgeon. This is the work she is meant to do. I had a previous surgery and on reflection the experience was like going to a butcher. It was rough, unsteady, indelicate and just had the feel of a surgeon who didn't have the hands for surgery. Maybe he did in the past, but I just can't say enough about the difference in the superior experience I had with Dr. Keene. She has also been interested in follow-up and my progress. I'm really surprised that she has not yet gained more notoriety on this board. Take a look at my hairline and peruse some of the hairlines done by other recommended surgeons. It's my opinion certainaly, but I think she has great surgical skill as well as an excellent aesthetic sense. Addittionally, she has a great staff working with her.

 

And, for a person from Chicago, Tuscon is not a bad spot to head to for a few days during mid winter,

 

Finally, her prices are very reasonable. This was the best money I've ever spent.

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Me at age 20 before life sucked the living hell out of me. Warning: don't look at your hair at age twenty and try to predict how much you'll have 20 years later.

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Paul

 

Its a great feeling to have your Doc. give you that extra confidence by following up with phone calls etc....My Doc. Paul Rose has called twice to my surprise...many years ago at Nuhart they never called me back for a follow up...Hair mill hell!!!!! Doc. Rose spends two weeks in MN at Shapiro then 2 down in Tampa.

 

Good luck with the waiting period...Personally,I am looking forward to mid April!!!

 

 

aloha Big it up

Experience:

6 HT to date.......wish this forum was around in the 90's!

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Where is Bolton?

 

I grew up in Westport, and family lives in Farmington, Kensington, Cromwell and Southington.

 

Sorry to send you crashing - maybe facelifts are next for us LOL!

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I chose this left front pre-op shot because it shows how much density the medications created in just six months of use. Especially on the top and crown, the hair turned from whispy and thin to sturdy, more dense and wavy - and dark too!

pre-op_left_side.jpg.3ad95e39e28dfd4c330693a369c07c83.jpg

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I took this photo for Dr. Lewinberg when I started his medication in '97. I think this photo shows the stark difference that the right medications made for me on the top and crown area. It still shocks me to look at these old photos. Lewinburg's formula did nothing for me except irritate my scalp an grow a small amount of fuzz.

 

I'd been reluctant to talk about the lipoxidl products until now because it's so easy to be accused of being a company plant. I have nothing to do with this company, I assure you. I also have no idea if these products would have the same effects on everyone else. They have several other products I tried that were worthless for me, so I only named the ones that produced the striking results you can all see with your own eyes. Warning. The products are pricey.

But, I think they might be worth trying before jumping into a transplant, particularly if your problem is in the top and crown area where the lipoxidil 1.5 had amazing effects on me. The spriro creme was also great, it just didn't do much right at the hairline itself.

 

All this said, I'm glad I had Dr. Keene do the work on the front one third. I'm very hopeful that I will have a much more natural looking hairline instead of that dumb looking line of hairs standing at attention. The additional hairs in the frontal area will no doubt thicken the frontal area and provide a much more consistent appearance of density than did the spriro-creme. She also lowered everything just a bit and, judging from my post op photos, I think she has given me a much more aesthetically appealing appearance.

 

Sorry for all the space I've taken on the board. I hope some of this is interesting and maybe even helpful for a few of you. My plan is to get all of this organized into a web site and remove these posts. I'll just replace the posts with a link to the website. I'm a novice so it's going to take some time, so please be patient.

 

[This message was edited by paul148 on February 07, 2003 at 06:06 AM.]

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