Finally Did it - Shapiro 2435 graphs

startingout · October 9, 2003

After researching extensively for 8 months I finally went through with a hair transplant with Dr Shapiro on 8/28/03. One thing I promised myself after my extensive research was that I would put back to the community what was given to me.

I want this post to be more about the experience and how you get to making a final decision, then about the actual procedure.

First a little bit about me. I am a 36 year old male living in loss Angeles. I started to notice some hair loss in my early 20's. I have been using minoxidil for about 10 years and switched to Xandrox a few years back. Personally I really don't think Minoxidil helped me out, but it became a habit to use it. I used Propecia a few years ago then stopped because I thought it decreased my libido, little did I realize it was the person I was with caused this not Propecia. I started back on it about April of 2003 and have seen some positive results with it. And actually I have seen my libido increase, go figure. I wish I would have started the moment I noticed my hair loss. So my first piece of advice is get on PROPECIA NOW! The loss of libido is mostly mental and could just be part of age.

Before I started losing my hair I had always had a thick head of hair. When I got it cut I remember the stylist always having to thing it out. I still have a good amount in my donor area. Before my transplant I was about a Norwood 3v-4v, I am now a 1-2V. The V is for my crown still thin. I also had a pretty low hairline which moved back with time. To conceal my hair loss I started to use couvre, topix and finally Prothik. All I can say is Prothik worked wonders, no one really knew how much hair I had really lossed and would usually be shocked when they saw me without Prothik. So with Rusk radical cream, Prothik and the right hair style I was pretty much able to conceal my hair loss. So for you younger guys or guys just starting to lose your hair, while you are waiting for

Propecia to work and are in your starting stages I recommend PROTHIK and some styling to conceal your hair loss.

Starting this year it finally got to the point that it was getting more and more difficult to conceal my hair loss. Especially because my hair loss was uneven with more on the right side. I decided I was going to research my options. I had litature from NHI or coarse Bosley which I never really considered. I always felt that when it comes to cosmetic surgery you can not relly on a chain you need personal attention, so my concentration whet that way. I looked for doctors that only did H.T and have done them for around 10 years. I read the Bald Truth and that got me started on my internet quest and I limited my search to the Drs he recommended. I slowly learned about the hair transplant process, F.U, all the term etc. I saw all the top doctors in the Southern California area (Rassman, Mcandrew, Deyarman), but none impressed me. So I decided to venture out of state and got info on the top doctors discussed on this site. I also talked to a few of them. In the end I felt most comfortable with Shapiro. Once I decided on him I did extensive research on his background, patience, postings etc. What I found out was nothing but praise, the guy is the cleanest doctor around. Third, piece of advise learn about the procedure, learn about the doctors, DO NOT RUSH!

At first I too was skeptical about talking to Matt (Shapiro's consultant) instead of Shapiro. But after I talked to Shapiro that all changed. I realized that having the right consultant can be beneficial to the patient in the long run. I asked a million questions, saw tons of pictures, talked to about a dozen patience and also saw some. There is no way that a doctor can be a top doctor and cater to my demands as Matt did. He helped answer and facilitate anything I did. When I finally met Matt he said that I am probably the patient who asked the most questions ever. So you know I did my research. I talked to Shapiro twice over the phone asking very detailed questions. He was the only doctor who looked at my transplant as not just a hairline work but an entire area behind my hairline. Therefore, recommended the most amount of graphs which, as I look at it now is what would have given me the best results. Most of the other doctors I talked to would have had me have a nice hairline with thin hair behind it.

Although I would highly recommend Shapiro what I really want to advise people is to do their research. There are so many different ways and techniques that make one transplant better then the other and by knowing that you can really home in on what meets your need and find the doctor the suits you. This will also help you better communicate to the doctor what your needs are at make your expectations more realistic. It will also prepare you for pre and post op care that will make you hair transplant even more successful.

Even with all that research I was still scared. There is nothing that we can do about that, this industry has a lot of bad doctors and as a result of that a lot of casualties. I really thought I was going to back out of this until the last minute, because of all the negative things that I have herd. But every time I talked to Shapiro or his former patience I got further reassurance and confidence to go through with this. So talk to as many patience until you feel assure.

I saw Shapiro the day before my procedure and we went over what I wanted to do. I showed him pictures of my hairline when I was 25, of other hairlines I thought fit me and what I wanted. And of coarse I asked a million more questions. In the end, I felt that I he is the master and just let him do his work. Shapiro is an artist just the way he draws his hairline, you can feel how smooth and creative this doctor is. I brought a friend for moral support she was also blown away by him.

Next day went to surgery. Shots were ok, not a painful as I thought. Since Shapiro was going to go between hairs he cut my existing hairs short. He said he can do it either way, but since I was so concerned with shock loss cutting the hair would be better. I was most afraid of the strip removal, but I did not even know he was taking it out. I still thought he was cutting my hair. I was there from 8:30a.m -7:30p.m, my hardest part was staying in my seat and constantly having to get up to go to the restroom. I just took some extra valium to just keep me calm. Shapiro was in there all the time directing and what to do. At the end it was Shapiro and another assistant and he fine tuned the hairline with a few last hairs having me sit down stand until he and I felt comfortable with the hairline.

In total I got the following:

2434 Graphs as follows:

860 ??“ 1 F.U

1106 - 2 F.U

411 ??“ 3 F.U

57 ??“ 4 F.U

Donor Area: 1.25cm x 24 Cm all across my hair. For approximate 81 F.U a sq cm, but unfortunately they were mostly 1's and 2's.

Suture: He did a double stitched suture. With dissolvable on the inside and stitches on the outside.

One thing about Shapiro is that he knows so many techniques. Therefore, he listens to you then does what works out for you.

If you have any questions you can post here or you can e-mail me directly at avilax@aol.com. I took longer to post this because I did not want to be on post surgery high when posting. I will post my day 1-60 in another post since this is getting long.

In closing all I can say is don't rush. Fight the urge to get excited and book a surgery. Research and go over the small detail it will make for an easy recovery and even better results.

let all work together

startingout · October 9, 2003