Regular Member Jaymanji Posted December 16, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2011 I'm very excited. I fly down on Sunday and my procedure will be Monday & Tuesday. This forum has been absolutely amazing. Because of it I dodged a few bullets with some sketchy doctors and I've been able to do an exhaustive search for the right surgeon. I pursued most of the recommended names in these chatboards and determined SMG was the way to go for me. Honestly, I would have preferred to have my surgery here in Canada and I'm frankly shocked that our two best surgeons are in Ottawa and Vancouver and that Toronto offers so few comparable options. Not that Ottawa & Vancouver aren't deserving...just that I would have assumed more would come from our largest city. Our tax here was a big determining factor in my decision. With our dollar at parity, doctors here are charging the same rates as doctors in the US. BUT...our tax rate here is 13%! A significant difference when compared with surgeons south of the border. I'll have Janna or Matt post my photos (or I will when I get back to the hotel). With so many step by step testimonials on here, I owe you all a big thanks. I am going in excited and not nervous. I know what to expect during my surgery, weeks, months and even years after. I remain in gratitude to the posters and moderators of this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted December 16, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 16, 2011 Jaymanji, Best of luck as you venture south of the border! You've chosen your doctor well and I will look forward to following your progress in the coming months. Have a safe trip. David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member orlhair1 Posted December 16, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 16, 2011 You are in great hands! Look forward to seeing your photos and following your progress! Surgery - Dr. Ron Shapiro FUT 6/14/11 - 3048 grafts Surgery - Dr. Ron Shapiro FUE 1/28/13 & 1/29/13 - 1513 grafts http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/orlhair1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member NEWHAIRPLEASE Posted December 16, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 16, 2011 Good luck! You have chosen an excellent doctor! Newhairplease!! Dr Rahal in January 19, 2012:) 4808 FUT grafts- 941 singles, 2809 doubles, 1031 triples, 27 quads My Hairloss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member destro21 Posted December 16, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2011 not sure, but i thought the doctor's in canada charge a flat fee (no tax), or at least already built into the per graft costs posted on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Capelli11 Posted December 16, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 16, 2011 Good Luck! Keep us posted!!! -HT with Dr. Rahal- December 2011- 4,616 grafts FUT Check out my website updates: http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=2225 My HT write up: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/164084-my-hair-transplant-dr-rahal-4-600-fut-write-up-pics.html My FOXBAR write up: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/164085-my-foxbar-write-up-dr-rahal-4-600-fut.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Mp96 Posted December 17, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 17, 2011 u made a very good decision heading south for this procedure.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Janna Posted December 18, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 18, 2011 Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow. I'd be happy to put pics up for you. I wasn't aware of the Canadian tax system either. Our state has a mandatory Care Tax on cosmetic procedures too but it's 2%. Much better than the 13%. This tax differs from state to state. Enjoy the Mall today if you get time to go. Be good to get last minute shopping done if needed. But be fair warned that the Mall is massive and I'm sure it's crowded on the weekends this time of year. Ending on a good note...Minnesota has no tax on clothing. 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 aaron1234 Posted December 18, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 18, 2011 Jaymanji - good luck tomorrow. You're in best of hands. Looking forward to the pics. Dr. G: 1,000 grafts (FUT) 2008 Dr. Paul Shapiro: 2,348 grafts (FUT) 2009 ~ 1,999 grafts (FUT) 2011 ~ 300 grafts (Scar Reduction) 2013 Dr. Konior: 771 grafts (FUT) 2015 ~ 558 grafts (FUT) 2017 ~ 1,124 grafts (FUE) 2020 My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member southbeacharchi Posted December 19, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 19, 2011 Best of luck tomorrow. It is such an exciting time for you. And I agree that this website is amazing and was so helpful in the direction, research and ultimate decision in finding my HT doctor. Can't wait to see your results, I'm sure they are going to be great. My Hair Loss Web Site FUT - 8/12/11 - Dr. Keller - Chicago - 3140 grafts 365 singles, 375 doubles, & 2400 multiple hair grafts Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a professional within the hair transplant field, but I am one hell of a researcher and have been dubbed "master googler" by people that know me. So, anything I say is solely my best opinion or answer based on everything I have read and/or experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Levrais Posted December 19, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 19, 2011 Good luck. Looking forward to seeing the pics 5700 FUE in 3 procedures with Dr. Bisanga View my patient website: http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1874 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jaymanji Posted December 30, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 30, 2011 Wow! What an awesome experience! I'm going to post my journey in long form so that anyone who is considering using Shapiro will benefit. To say I'm delighted would be an understatement. From start to finish everything about this trip and procedure has been nothing short of fantastic! I brought my wife with me from Toronto. Our flights were easy and very affordable. We stayed at The Country Inns West. I booked through their website in advance and got a rate of $59.99 each night. The hotel is comparable to a Holiday Inn Express with a comfortable room, a hot breakfast bar with plenty of options, free wifi, a pool & hot-tub (the wife loved that), nice gym, cookies, tea & coffee 24/7. The attached restaurant and bar 5120 & Onyx Bar is a great dinner option. Most importantly the staff there are incredible! With every request we made they were so accommodating. They shuttled us everywhere - Shapiro, Mall of America, a pharmacy. Stored ice gel packs in their freezer. Extra pillows. etc. etc. Etc. Their staff are awesome! On to my experience from Shapiro. From the moment I stepped in their office and was greeted by Dal, every member of their team were kind caring and expressed genuine interest in my procedure. Dr. Ron has assembled a wonderful team of people who approach everything as a united effort. The majority of my procedure was completed with great expertise by Tom, who worked in conjunction with Shelly & Song. Dr. Ron was absolutely meticulous in the development of my hairline, returning over and over to create the incisions and determine placement. Tom extracted my hair using the Harris tool. Matt and Janna checked in several times a day. One of the best pieces of news I got was that my donor site was almost all 2s,3s & 4s – even some 5s. Only 35-40 1s were taken from my donor site. Meaning I'll have lots of options for the future and my scarring will be minimal from this procedure. I ended up getting 1,501 FUE grafts. Exactly as I had assumed and right in the center of Matt's estimation. 1 hair grafts = 586 2 hair grafts = 693 3 hair grafts = 222 1501 total grafts, which came out to 2638 hairs! I've created a photo journal and website. Hair Restoration Site for jaymanji The first few days after my procedure I had extensive swelling which gradually worked it's way down my face. Within 4 days it had disappeared and I had no problem attending family functions on Christmas Day. My extended family only commented on my new 'buzz-cut' and no one knew I had the procedure done. What can I say! SMG is the way to go! Thanks Dr. Ron, Tom, Matt, Janna and everyone at Shapiro Medical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jaymanji Posted December 30, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 30, 2011 Oh, BTW. I went to Walmart to buy 5% Rogaine Foam (which we don't have in Canada). I had gone on the Rogaine website and downloaded a $10 coupon. I had it photocopied 10x. Walmart had it on sale from $28.99 to $14.00 - $10 (coupon) = $4.00! Win! I bought a year's supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member aaron1234 Posted December 30, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 30, 2011 Jaymanji, congrats! Looks like great work again from Dr. Ron. Good luck growing and looking forward to seeing your results! 5 hair grafts?!? You beast! Dr. G: 1,000 grafts (FUT) 2008 Dr. Paul Shapiro: 2,348 grafts (FUT) 2009 ~ 1,999 grafts (FUT) 2011 ~ 300 grafts (Scar Reduction) 2013 Dr. Konior: 771 grafts (FUT) 2015 ~ 558 grafts (FUT) 2017 ~ 1,124 grafts (FUE) 2020 My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BadBeat Posted December 30, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 30, 2011 Oh, BTW. I went to Walmart to buy 5% Rogaine Foam (which we don't have in Canada). I had gone on the Rogaine website and downloaded a $10 coupon. I had it photocopied 10x. Walmart had it on sale from $28.99 to $14.00 - $10 (coupon) = $4.00! Win! I bought a year's supply. Wow! $4 Rogaine? Do you know if that's all Walmarts right now? Did they let you redeem all 10 coupons at once? I might need to go do this today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member orlhair1 Posted December 30, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted December 30, 2011 Looking good.....should have a great result. No surprise about your great experience at SMG. Congratulations and keep us all posted! Surgery - Dr. Ron Shapiro FUT 6/14/11 - 3048 grafts Surgery - Dr. Ron Shapiro FUE 1/28/13 & 1/29/13 - 1513 grafts http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/orlhair1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jaymanji Posted December 31, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 31, 2011 Wow! $4 Rogaine? Do you know if that's all Walmarts right now? Did they let you redeem all 10 coupons at once? I might need to go do this today! Yep. It was like I was extreme couponing. Even funnier...I found $20 in mail in rebates inside the packaging. Ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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