AJ Posted April 3, 2003 Share Posted April 3, 2003 First I would like to thank you all for informative posts and a great site which helped me out a lot in selecting a Doc to restore some soldiers lost in battle up front. My problem started with a receding hairline/temples at the age of 20 and now at 25 it started to become a problem that I gave more and more thought to and I decided to finally go ahead and do somthing about it since it most likely would not improve by itself.. Dr. Charles and the Shaprio Medical team was great and I must say that I am completely satisifed with every aspect of the procedure. Obviously it is to early to say much about the final result but so far it looks very good IMO The procedure itself went very smooth with very little pain or discomfort - nothing worse than a dentist session that involves some tooth drilling. I flew in from Europe to do the procedure and I have now stayed in MN for 3 days post op, the Shapiro team has been very supportive and I have had a free hairwash every day at their clinic since I really was a bit afraid of touching the graft site myself the first couple of days. My overall experience with Dr. Charles and the Shapiro team is top notch and if I should do it again I would certainly do it with them. I also started using Propecia and I hope this combined with the 1690 grafts will ensure me a adequate head of hair for some years to come. [This message was edited by AJ on April 03, 2003 at 01:47 PM.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted April 3, 2003 Author Share Posted April 3, 2003 First I would like to thank you all for informative posts and a great site which helped me out a lot in selecting a Doc to restore some soldiers lost in battle up front. My problem started with a receding hairline/temples at the age of 20 and now at 25 it started to become a problem that I gave more and more thought to and I decided to finally go ahead and do somthing about it since it most likely would not improve by itself.. Dr. Charles and the Shaprio Medical team was great and I must say that I am completely satisifed with every aspect of the procedure. Obviously it is to early to say much about the final result but so far it looks very good IMO The procedure itself went very smooth with very little pain or discomfort - nothing worse than a dentist session that involves some tooth drilling. I flew in from Europe to do the procedure and I have now stayed in MN for 3 days post op, the Shapiro team has been very supportive and I have had a free hairwash every day at their clinic since I really was a bit afraid of touching the graft site myself the first couple of days. My overall experience with Dr. Charles and the Shapiro team is top notch and if I should do it again I would certainly do it with them. I also started using Propecia and I hope this combined with the 1690 grafts will ensure me a adequate head of hair for some years to come. [This message was edited by AJ on April 03, 2003 at 01:47 PM.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted April 3, 2003 Author Share Posted April 3, 2003 3 day post-op photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 hey, i just saw your pics. your HT is along the lines of what i am shooting for. how many grafts per square cm did you achieve? also, if you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for the HT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted April 4, 2003 Author Share Posted April 4, 2003 texasNW2: Grafts pr.cm2 is 25-30 where I was very thin and 15-20 in the front center where I still had plenty left. Price was $6K and that was basically for 1500 grafts - the 190 over I got for free.. I am also very impressed by the super-clean look IMO of the neck scar after only 3 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocor1 Posted April 4, 2003 Share Posted April 4, 2003 AJ: Looks good and you are in a similar boat that I was in but you have more hair! Happy regrowth! vocor1 Knowledge is Power If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member tkotko Posted April 9, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted April 9, 2003 Hey AJ, Any updates to your progress? Experiencing any shock loss, and how's the scar healing? tkotko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEMO Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 hey A.J., your temple work look mighty clean and neat. I got 2269 grafts from Dr Charles about 4 months ago to camouflage previous plugs anf fill in the rest and it looks 100 times better already, so im thinking its gonna look real sweet in another 6 months. good luck and be patient waiting for regrowth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member tkotko Posted April 14, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted April 14, 2003 NEMO - do you have any pictures of your current progress now that your 4 months out? Just curious because I have a procedure scheduled with Dr. Charles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEMO Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 tkotko: sorry, no pics yet. i dont have a digital cam, but i have been taking pics every couple weeks but havent developed them yet. one of the reasons i chose dr. charles was the fact that originally shapiro medical (from what matt told me) was content with just therir 3 docs shapiro-keene-rose, but that Dr. Shapiro was so impressed with Dr. Charles hairline work that he got him on board. that whole establishment is so far beyond any of the places that i had work done before-theres no comparison. they were way cool. hope everything goes groovy for ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jj250 Posted April 15, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted April 15, 2003 The work looks good but why is no one commenting on AJ being too young (25) for a HT???? Whenever a young guy comes on the site and says he is considering one, everyone goes crazy saying "don't do it!!" Is 25 old enough??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocor1 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Umm, it is always a calculated risk. Just the younger you are, the more you risk if you have an overly aggressive HT strategy. Hard to tell if your hairloss has stablized the younger you are. If you are willing to do more HTs and have a huge donor supply, you risk less as well. vocor1 Knowledge is Power If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jj250 Posted April 15, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted April 15, 2003 Yeah, I know all that. But why is no one saying he's too young? If AJ posted that he was thinking of a transplant on his hairline AND temples at age 25, there would be several e-mails screaming for him not to do it. Now that the pics are up, everyone is saying "way to go!" Sorry, I just don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member tkotko Posted April 16, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted April 16, 2003 jj250 - In defense of vocor1 and the others who are submitting support to AJ, the deed is done and since AJ isn't asking for advice but rather showing his early results, they are critiquing what has already been done. I don't think I'd want to hear "You shouldn't have done it" after it's done, but rather either hear a "looks good", or if not, what I could do to recify it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocor1 Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 jj250: I've got two points on that. First, he did fill in the temples some, but he didn't go super aggressive to restore a teenage hairline. Some guys actually want that, especially younger guys whose friends mostly have all their hair and losing hair is a new experience for them. They start losing their hair and they freak. AJ didn't lower his current hairline any, just filled the temples some and created a new hairline where there wasn't one before. Second, it's clear he made an informed decision and went with a top doc who isn't going to screw his future. Hey, do what you want. But for god's sake, know what you are getting into and the risks involved. It seems to be that AJ made an informed decision that will result in a good result. Personally, I'm glad I didn't know anything about HTs at 22. At about 26, when my hairloss pattern became more defined and clear, I think it might okay to go ahead and get an HT and certainly start Propecia. So 4 years different but a big change in perspective, I think. Yeah, I could have got an HT at 22, but my hair was full thickness behind the temples. If I filled in temples then, well, I would be pretty much forced to get another HT or look weird with full temples and recession behind that. If you've got tons of donor supply and a willingness to more HTs, then maybe it isn't such a big risk after all. But what if Propecia doesn't work? What if you have shock loss? What if your donor supply sucks? What if your dad and your mom's dad were NW6+? Have to look at people on a case by case basis, and certainly, age is a factor. If you are not a good candidate and you are young, the risk is much, much greater than if you are a bit older and a good candidate. That is what needs to be considered. If you've considered all that and done your research, then proceed with an informed decision and understand the HT is a calculated risk. vocor1 Knowledge is Power If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 quote "AJ didn't lower his current hairline any, just filled the temples some and created a new hairline where there wasn't one before." this sounds contradicting to me. He didn't lower his any. but then he creates a hairline where there wasn't before? don't get it bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HarryLemon Posted April 16, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted April 16, 2003 Same here... Did you go for FUE? If so, how many grafts did you get?? Thanks, HarryLemon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jj250 Posted April 16, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted April 16, 2003 I hear ya, your points are well taken. And to AJ, I do think the work looks very good and I wish you the best of luck. I wasn't saying that I thought you were too young, but others usually say "don't do it!" at 25. I didn't mean to dampen your enthusiasm for your transplant and if I did I apologize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 then what's the difference between filling in temples and not lowering your hairline....and squaring off temples? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocor1 Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 Maybe that isn't so clear. To me, "squaring off" temples means bringing the front and sides forward so they form a 90 angle. Basically, you are bringing your vertical hairline forward on the sides and lowering the frontal hairline so the proportions are youthful. Basically, you are adding a lot of hair to areas that are completely bald and completely forward of your existing hairline. "Filling in" temples is adding hair to the top to create a hairline where there was none. You use the most forward point of hair on your head to base the new hairline off of. You do not lower that most forward point. That is my definition. Still, I get the opinion that "filling in" and "squaring off" get interchanged sometimes. That is what we get for using non-technical terms. vocor1 Knowledge is Power If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 vocor1, yeah, i know what you mean about interchanging them. i thought when people say "closing off" or "squaring off" temples if meant "filling in temples" that's where the confusion between you and i is at times. Just FYI, my situation: 1.) I don't want to lower the middle part of my hairline any. it's perfect the way it is 2.) I want to fill in the temple areas in a way that it looks a "tad" bit recessed, but still "squared off" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 vocor1 see attachement. just to add to what i wrote above. this is what i'm talking about as far as a "tad" bit recessed with a "squared off" look. this patient looks like he did not lower the middle portion of his hairline, he added grafts to his temples and i'm sure, some on top too. I have a little more hair than he does on top and a little more hair on the temples area (i am of course referring to his before pics ) question (to everyone): Would you call the below (after pic) hairline a "mature" hairline or a "teenager" hairline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member NW Posted April 16, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted April 16, 2003 Tex, Re: your post & example above: That hairline example is reasonable, a bit recessed and not brought forward but rather "filled in". I would place that guy pushing a nw2 which in my opinion works rather well, and I assume he is a good canidate for HT, it looks like he has pretty thick donor. His case is similiar to mine. I could have been more aggressive, but opted not to, its personal case by case. Other guys want more aggressive squaring, and I do not have a problem with that providing they can accomodate the space long term with plenty of donor hair (fu's dont go far !), every guy will have a slightly differing view of the "perfectly planted" hairline. "Precaution" is not a bad word always...Look at Billy Joel lately, all the sudden.."Bam" no hair, and he is advancing in age, it didnt happen to him as a young buck, he had reasonable hair till late 40's ??? NW [This message was edited by NW on April 16, 2003 at 11:03 AM.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 thanks NW, yeah, i have to admit that the patient that i posted up has thick hair to work with. so that helps him out. yeah, his is sort of pushing a nw2 with a recessed temple area. i have pretty much the same hairline he had in his before pics with more hair on top though. my hair even shoots out at the same angle as his does in the front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocor1 Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 I don't think that hairline is unreasonable, especially if you have FUs to spare. He really didn't bring the hairline forward, he created a new one (oh, here I go again with ambiguous terms, but I hope you get my drift by now). I like the "Broad V" look. And it works for that guy. And he didn't fill in his vertical temples any. I think that is a smart move, personally. Imagine how weird if you planted FUs there and it recessed behind that causing a gap. Maybe I'm too cautious here. We've seen that I chose the "narrow V". That was my choice over a NW3 look or the "broad V". I haven't decided if I want another HT ever, but I would consider broadening the V a bit if I did. Only on the top, again. It also depends on number of FUs I have left. I honestly don't know. I know my donor hair density is about 80 FU/cm^2, though. I am still enjoying regrowth from my first HT. I can't fathom making any commitment at all prior to at least 8 months post op. And then I'll still try to be cautious. Maybe 1200-1500s. I don't know. I'd just rather be safe than sorry, and I've already proven to myself that the improvement I've already received has been worth the risk and money. vocor1 Knowledge is Power If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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