richardmax Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Excellent and wonderful work!,congratulations Steve and happy new year everybody! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member chucky Posted January 4, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted January 4, 2008 hi emu i really like your work,top notch smg seem to be producing consistent excellent results and i`m sure yours will be no exception. 2 x strip ht`s with Norton,very poor results 1 x fue ht with DHI,very poor result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member EmuSteve Posted January 16, 2008 Author Senior Member Share Posted January 16, 2008 Hey all. I posted a 1.5 update to my progress. The hair shed (like expected). It looks like I am right on schedule as far as growth. To illustrate and to help some of the newbies, I posted a personal chart Ive been keeping tracking my growth progress and where I'm at on the timeline at this point. The main thing I am worried about is my donor area... maybe I am worrying unnecessarily, but it appears that the donor area on my left side is about 2 mm wide, but on my right side in the parietal area, its about 5-6mm wide. I know Arrie posted that his donor scar shrunk around month 3-4, but this is really worrying me. I sent an email to Janna about 5 minutes ago, and I trust her to let me know if I have anything to worry about, but until then I wanted to post and get opinions from some of the vets here. Hope you guys enjoy the pics... looking forward to hearing your opinions! Thanks! -Steve I don't work for a doctor. Got 2700 fu from Ron Shapiro, 11-30-7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Steve, Thanks for the update my friend. I'm glad to hear that everything seems on course. I took a look at your scar pictures, and maybe the pictures don't make it clear, but the 5-6mm areea on the right side appears more like redness around the scar rather than the scar itself. If this is true, the scar itself is probably much thinner. Redness and some minor inflammation can be normal as the donor area is healing. If it is indeed the width of the scar, then 5-6mm is quite wide. I hope this is not the case. I'll be interested to hear what SMG has to say about it. Please keep us updated. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Janna Posted January 16, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted January 16, 2008 "I took a look at your scar pictures, and maybe the pictures don't make it clear, but the 5-6mm areea on the right side appears more like redness around the scar rather than the scar itself. If this is true, the scar itself is probably much thinner. Redness and some minor inflammation can be normal as the donor area is healing." - Bill It's pretty much my thoughts on the donor scar pictures. I highly doubt the scar will be 5-6mm wide or even close. Steve has SMG's full support and has nothing to worry about. Thanks for the update Steve! Patient Care Services & UK Patient Advisor for Shapiro Medical Dr. Ron Shapiro, Dr. Paul Shapiro and Dr. David Josephitis are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. http://shapiromedical.com/info@shapiromedical.com http://shapiromedical.com/contact/request-a-consultation/janna@shapiromedical.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member frog Posted January 16, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted January 16, 2008 thanks for update :-) hope growing is very fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member EmuSteve Posted January 16, 2008 Author Senior Member Share Posted January 16, 2008 With respect to all, I don't think thats the case, for a few reasons. =( 1.) The tiny red marks where the staples went in are farther apart then when I started, and farther apart than on the left side of my head. 2.) The left side of my head has a red line about 2 mm wide. -Steve I don't work for a doctor. Got 2700 fu from Ron Shapiro, 11-30-7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member PLEASE GROW PLEASE Posted January 16, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted January 16, 2008 Steve One thing I will promise you is that SMG will not let you down one bit. As far as your scar I have no idea .It could be alot of things Your scar will improve a HUGE amount as time goes on . Try not to look at it for awhile even though I know how hard that is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member EmuSteve Posted January 16, 2008 Author Senior Member Share Posted January 16, 2008 Thanks for the encouragement. Janna just sent me an email promising just that (as I knew she would), so even if there is an issue, I'm sure they will be amazing (as always) in taking care of it. One of the reasons I chose them. =) I guess I just don't want there to be an issue, and its hard not to worry when the left side and the right side look totally different. Ill try to upload some new pics to illustrate what I'm talking about for you guys. -Steve I don't work for a doctor. Got 2700 fu from Ron Shapiro, 11-30-7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Steve, I can appreciate your concern about your scar. As you have noted, it may end up a bit wider than when originally stapled, but 5 or 6mm? Only time will tell. Give it time to heal. Be cautious not to do anything to strain the donor area in the meantime. If you are going to the gym, stick to light exercises and don't push your chin down to your chest or do anything similar to scalp exercises. What comforts me in your case is I am confident that Shapiro Medical will stand by you, just like the other elite physicians of the Coalition stand by their patients. Heal well my friend. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member EmuSteve Posted January 16, 2008 Author Senior Member Share Posted January 16, 2008 Hey Bill. Thanks for the advice. =) As you know, the donor scar was my biggest concern before making the decision to go forward. After surgery, I took every precaution I could think of. For guys like you and I who practically live at the gym, its been really tough not to go hit the weights, but I haven't been in 2 months (since 2 weeks before surgery). I've also been trying to sleep on my back when I normally sleep on my side, and I even bought special mirrors for my car so I could see my blind spot without having to turn my head around while driving. Just to be safe, I even gave up paintball for a while (ouch!). lol I say all this just to illustrate that I have and will continue to play it as safe as possible when it comes to my donor area. Matt Zupan was actually teasing me a little when he was taking the pictures right after I got my staples out, because I didn't want to bend my head forward so he could get a shot of the top. =) One thing I will agree with you on is that SMG is taking very good care of me. I sent an email to Janna about my concerns and got a reply within an hour, assuring me that even in the worst case scenario, they could preform a scar excision. I asked if they would charge me for that, and her answer was "Of course not. We will do whatever it takes to make sure you are happy with your procedure." For anyone who doesn't know about Janna or SMG, this level of care is pretty normal, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. =) Hope I don't have to take her up on it though. =/ -Steve I don't work for a doctor. Got 2700 fu from Ron Shapiro, 11-30-7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member PLEASE GROW PLEASE Posted January 16, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted January 16, 2008 Yeah that level of care is normal to them, but not to alot of other places. They went above and beyond what I expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member NervousNelly Posted January 17, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted January 17, 2008 Steve, Normal to worry--I also did about my scar. You'll be good. I personally believe what you are seeing is possibly still a little bit of swelling along the incision, combined with redness giving it a wider presentation. I was told by Dr. Shapiro that all would change after time and sure enough my scar is already looking much much better at 5 months. Relax man. All will be good. NN Dr.Cole,1989. ??graftcount Dr. Ron Shapiro. Aug., 2007 Total graft count 2862 Total hairs 5495 1hairs--916 2hairs--1349 3hairs--507 4hairs--90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Arrie Posted January 17, 2008 Senior Member Share Posted January 17, 2008 Emu, Listen my friend try to calm down and give this whole ht thing at least a full year, remember?!?!?? I know its tough we all did our research and we have read these kind of threads before, but when we actually go through this we tend to forget what we learned. I can probably tell you, at least for me, it got worse before it got better. If it helps look at my blog, I take close exposing donor scars every month. In my opinion my scar has gotten smaller but it is still quite pink. Besides everyone heals different, we both went into this procedure so sure of Dr. Ron Shapiro's amazing hairline work, that we made our donor scar a major concern. I think we play mind games with ourselves and we get worked up over it. Listen its a scar in you skin and it takes time to heal, especially if your like me and not using anything like "maderma". I hope in 6-7 months we can look back at this time and laugh. I am in no way doubting Dr. Shapiro or anyone else at Shapiro Medical group, personally no one else will ever touch my head besides those people, they are great. Ok ok sorry for the cheering but I have faith that everything will be ok. take care Emu... You only live once... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member EmuSteve Posted January 18, 2008 Author Senior Member Share Posted January 18, 2008 Ha ha. You research for years, and you laugh at all the guys you see on the boards who sound like they are freaking out about stuff when its way too soon to tell if they should be freaking out or not. And then 1 1/2 months in, you look back at your posts and realize you sound like that guy. =) I feel kindof silly. =) I am still a little worried because the sides don't look even, and the staple marks look farther apart... however, like I said earlier, SMG is taking great care of me. In fact, Dr. Shapiro emailed me himself. He said the redness could be the result of a low-grade infection and not to worry. He also said that the sides can look different due to local physiology. I trust him, and regardless it looks like the best thing to do is just wait and see. =) Arrie, thanks for your post bro. You are kindof trailblazing for me as you are 3 months ahead of me from the same doc. I hope your results are amazing, and I'm confident they will be. And thanks for the calming words. =) -Steve I don't work for a doctor. Got 2700 fu from Ron Shapiro, 11-30-7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Steve, I just want to re-emphasize that worrying is normal. No matter how much you know, when it's your own head, feelings often take hold. I was a nervous wreck for my first 2 surgeries especially due to all the shock loss I experienced. Even though I had very minimal shock for my third surgery, I became very nervous around month 3 when I didn't see any new growth! With all the knowledge and experience I've acquired, I still worried a bit. Would it grow? Will this numbness go away? But it did and I feel great. Of course, complicated situations CAN happen but giving it ample time is important. Try to remember to apply what you've learned to your own hair transplant and continue to seek member input for encouragement and support Cheers bro, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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