questions about shapiro

[johne]

Hey everyone....I have a few questions directed at people who have been to Shapiro Medical...

I have visited the office, and spoke with Matt Zupan, as well as Dr Shapiro..(it was a plesant experience...no pressure)..what I was wondering was if any of you who have had the procedure with them (and are in or was in the same boat as me) could tell me how your procedure went.....any regrets, any comments, etc. etc. Maybe even send me some pictures...scar, before and after...etc.etc

I guess my boat would be....a norwood 2 or 3..I think....receding hairline, and slight thinning in the crown.....I comb my hair down to cover the hairline and use dermatch on my crown...

I am 26, never taken drugs, been thinning since about 21 or 22

I have a pretty good head of hair but have always been unhappy with the deep recessions on the hair line........What I am considering doing is slightly filling in the recession...not getting rid of it...but just taking the edge off of it I guess....coming forward an inch or two....as well as putting some in the crown.....I spoke with the doctor and he said I had very good donor supply and what I wanted to do was doable.....I am far more concerned with the crown then the hair line....I know alot of you are the exact opposite and prefer the work to be on the hairline.....the doc said because I was concerned about the crown, he recommended 800 FU's in the crown....and 800 in the hairline.....I dont think I would mind having future procedures, provided the procedure went as planned.....the plan being, a good 5 or 10 years down the road before my next procedure.........

I know a few of you might jump in and say "get on propecia".....yes, yes....I know I know.....I am in the process of getting it.......but I would still like to hear from all of the shapiro patients...the good, the bad, the ugly. ...thanks for your time everyone....you can respond to this post or email me at infernaldevice@hotmail.com

[johne]

Hey everyone....I have a few questions directed at people who have been to Shapiro Medical...

I have visited the office, and spoke with Matt Zupan, as well as Dr Shapiro..(it was a plesant experience...no pressure)..what I was wondering was if any of you who have had the procedure with them (and are in or was in the same boat as me) could tell me how your procedure went.....any regrets, any comments, etc. etc. Maybe even send me some pictures...scar, before and after...etc.etc

I guess my boat would be....a norwood 2 or 3..I think....receding hairline, and slight thinning in the crown.....I comb my hair down to cover the hairline and use dermatch on my crown...

I am 26, never taken drugs, been thinning since about 21 or 22

I have a pretty good head of hair but have always been unhappy with the deep recessions on the hair line........What I am considering doing is slightly filling in the recession...not getting rid of it...but just taking the edge off of it I guess....coming forward an inch or two....as well as putting some in the crown.....I spoke with the doctor and he said I had very good donor supply and what I wanted to do was doable.....I am far more concerned with the crown then the hair line....I know alot of you are the exact opposite and prefer the work to be on the hairline.....the doc said because I was concerned about the crown, he recommended 800 FU's in the crown....and 800 in the hairline.....I dont think I would mind having future procedures, provided the procedure went as planned.....the plan being, a good 5 or 10 years down the road before my next procedure.........

I know a few of you might jump in and say "get on propecia".....yes, yes....I know I know.....I am in the process of getting it.......but I would still like to hear from all of the shapiro patients...the good, the bad, the ugly. ...thanks for your time everyone....you can respond to this post or email me at infernaldevice@hotmail.com

[Guest]

I haven't been anywhere else (had my first HT 2 weeks ago at Shapiro) but I believe Shapiro is as good as it gets. There are probably similarily fine practices around the country, but after doing a ton of research I decided on Shapiro. Proximity was a bonus as I was able to drive to and from the twin cities from St. Louis (I stopped in Cedar Rapids overnight on the way back although I could have driven the whole trip in one day if pressed to.)

I was there from 8:30 am till close to 9 pm due to my unusually large transplant (2400 fu.) There were many assistants working all day - very committed. They were fun to chat with as well. They made me feel comfortable and minimized any anxiety/tension I had about the whole thing.

I had planned on just hairline work. Like you, though, I was more concerned with my crown situation. They are hesitant to work on the crown for the long-term good of the patient. (There may not be enough donor hair.) But for me at norwood 3, they said they could do some crown work. I decided to go with 2000 fu's (which became 2400 due they said to my good donor area - wasn't charged for the extra by the way) which they placed throughout the top and crown of my head. The existing hair pretty much conceals the work they did. The advances (using 1-3 hair units) are such that your looks are normalized after only a week to two weeks because the incisions and resulting scabs are so tiny. As stated above, Shapiro is as good as it gets in this regard. Another stregnth is their hairline skill - making it look natural.

All this said, it's still surgery and carries a few bummers. The pain isn't that bad but you have to expect it. The donor area holds the real potential for discomfort. It also carries some cosmetic problems during the first month post-op. You can't see scalp or scar, but there's a noticable gap in hair coverage from above the suture to below that's kind of a drag. With me, it's because I have very straight hair. When the clipped hair at the suture line grows out, this will not be a problem. Shapiro does have a good reputation for leaving small scars so I am confident in this area.

I was happy that they were able to place hairs in a uniform manner throughout the top of my head (even within existing hair) The point I hadn't expected was that they could place hair within what seemed to be full coverage. It's kind of like insurance for the future while providing a fuller head of hair for the present.

Well, I've rambled enough. E-mail me at mfernandes@post-dispatch.com anytime in the future if you have any questions. I'm going through it for the first time myself and look forwart to the results. I'm a journalist so you can be sure I am unbiased.

- Matt Fernandes

[johne]

Thanks for your reply Matt...I am seriously considering a HT with Shapiro and your account of the procedure helps put me a little more at ease.

If possible, could you send me some pictures....I know that you have just had the procedure done, and I am not really interested in seeing the placement area (seen alot of those already) But what I am really interested in seeing is the donor scar.....if possible, could you send me picture of it....if you have them, I would also like to see that placement area, but as stated, I am more concerned with the donor area.....Also, if you dont mind me asking, how did you finance your HT.....the reason I ask is that I dont have alot of credit....not bad credit, just not alot of credit.......did you use a credit card?....I could do this, but I really dont want to pay 20% interest......did you just get a personal loan? Get back to me on this thread and the answers to the rest of my questions and I will email you....ok....thanks again........any other shapiro clients out there....I would love to hear from you............