start to finish experience with Shapiro Medical Group

[poweralley87]

Hey guys,

 

So I just finished up with my surgery last night with Dr. Paul Shapiro of Shapiro Medical group. I missed my flight this morning because I stopped by SMG in the morning because I had some bleeding in the donor area which turned out to be totally normal and just me being over cautious. So, I'm sitting in the airport now for a few extra hours so I figured I would go ahead and post my experience. I'm going o try to go into detail here, so sorry for the length.

 

Night Before :

 

Plain and simple, I was kind of freaking out. I have only had one surgery in my life and it was very minor. Even though this is also a fairly minimally invasive surgery, I was still a bit nervous.

 

Day of surgery:

 

Showed up at 7:30 AM, Met with Dal who was one of their technicians. He gave me the menu for lunch which SMG provided for me. He then took pictures from all around my head to get the pre-op pics. After taking the pictures, I talked with Dr. Paul about the game plan. He considered all of the normal factors given my case, mainly being my age (25). He then drew the hairline that he was thought would be best on my head. He stressed the importance of keeping things conservative given my family history of hair loss and my age. Even with all of that said, I was very pleased with the hairline that he had drawn. I was taken by Dr. Paul back into the surgical room which had a very nice view of the lake outside. I was changed into a surgical shirt, then placed in the chair. Dr. Paul then cut my hair in the recipient area.

 

During Surgery:

 

I was sat down in a chair that was similar to a dentist chair. I was given 3 pills of medication. One was valium, I think one was prednisone, and Im not really sure about the third. They then took my blood pressure, which was too high along with my heart rate (was being a nervous wimp). They decided to give me one more valium to get my blood pressure down a bit more. I think Dr. Paul gave me one more valium at some point during the surgery, but stuff was starting to get a bit hazy. Ok, now for the worst part of the surgery (which still wasn't that bad), the injections. I had multiple nerve blocking injections about my eyes to start. Next, I had injections in the back of my head which numbed the area under my scalp. after that, I got injections all the way around my head. The only ones that were rough were the ones on the sides close to the temples. Even then, they weren't that bad. Dr. Paul has a background in pain management, so he uses a vibrating device at the area where he makes the injections. This confuses the nerves so the injections don't hurt as much. I think I needed more injections because my body metabolizes the anesthetic quicker than normal (same thing happens at the dentist). They tested to make sure I was numb, then we got going.

 

Donor Removal - This is the part, like most people, that scared me the most. They reclined the chair so it was flat and turned into more of a massage chair. I put my head down in the head rest and Dr. Paul began to remove the strip. I honestly did not feel a thing. Actually, I was talking and cracking jokes during the removal. ( far cry from how nervous I was to start) The only thing that is a little odd is the sound. When they pull out the strip, it sounds similar to velcro. But seriously, for anyone out there that is worried about this, don't be. I didn't even know it was out until they told me.

 

Recipient Sites-

Dr. Paul made all of the recipient site incisions before lunch. He asked me not to talk during this as this was when he needed to count the number of incisions. While he was doing this, the techs were right next to us, cutting the grafts. We then had a short lunch break. After lunch, the techs began planting the grafts. I didn't get a chance to meet them all because I had to stay perfectly still while they were doing this and they were mostly behind me. Dr. Paul regularly checked in to make sure everything was going well. after the majority of the grafts were planted, Dr. Paul left a few of the 4's and made new incisions for them further towards the middle of my head. I think I also had a few ones left so that they could tweak the hairline, but Dr. Paul said he liked it how it was so I think they just added them in other places. After that, we were done. I got my post op kit with instructions, and headed back to the hotel.

 

Night of surgery (last night)-

 

Slept like a baby, maybe because of the meds.? But sitting here not 24 hours later, unless I touch my donor area, I feel like nothing happened. I have not taken any pain medicine since I got back to the hotel about 15 hours ago.

 

Graft count :

 

We planned for around 3000. but I think the magic number actually ended up being 2579. Don't quote me on that but it was definitely 25-something. The reason we couldnt get the extra grafts was because of the laxity on my scalp. I had good-average donor, but laxity was below average. Also, he had a little more trouble getting the donor out because he said my skin was very tough almost leathery(said possibly from playing sports) Dr. Paul didn't want to take out a large strip due to the chance of the scar stretching. Not sure on the 1's,2's,3's,4's count, but Janna may be able to hook us up with that down the road.

 

Sorry for the length but didn't want to leave anything out. Really happy with my decision to make the trip up to SMG.

Edited January 13, 2013 by poweralley87

[poweralley87]

Had second thoughts after that title there, since obviously since it isnt finished until the results come through, but you guys know what I mean;)

[Blake Bloxham]

Congratulations!

 

Dr. Paul created a perfect hairline for your face and level of hair loss, and I'm excited to see these results mature. I hope you'll keep us updated!

 

Good luck.

[poweralley87]

Thanks FHTD,

 

I was really happy with the hairline also. We talked about possibly adding more hair to the points at the temples with a second transplant but we'll see. Dr. Paul had the proper term for it..angular temporal apex or something???? not sure though. I'm only 25, Im going to stick with the meds and see if I can wait a little while till the next one. I'll keep everything updated though.

[Cant decide]

Looks great as expected.

 

Happy growing.

 

I love Dr. Paul's work!!

[Janna]

Hi Powerally,

 

What a bummer you missed your flight!! Hope you're home okay now.

 

I can attest to your skin texture. We noticed when we were planting too that it looked like you've had a prior ht surgery.

 

Here is your graft/hair breakdown. Would you like me to add your pre & post op pics as well?

 

2513gr/4490 hairs = Total Grafts/Hairs

 

1's - 562

2's - 1455

3's - 466

4's - 30

 

Keep in mind that due to a smaller size session but same frontal 1/2 coverage, the density isn't going to be what you'd like. Heal well. We look forward to following your progress.

 

Here's one image to see graft placement:

 

[slimjim]

Looks good. Thanks for the summary of you experience. My ht went similiar to what you said.

 

___________________

 

2900 fut with Dr. Alexander on 11-19-12

[Shampoo]

You were with one the very best clinics in the United States and the world for that matter. The Shapiro brothers usually achieve outstanding results for their patients. Janna is really on top of things as well. Keep us updated on your progress.

[agenteye]

Poweralley,

 

Congratulations to you on your recent transplant with SMG! You will no doubt be ecstatic when it all starts growing in, and it is always awesome to read such positive reviews of this clinic. I am a huge fan of the Shapiro brothers' work, and of Janna for her contributions to the industry and to these forums! Looks like those 2500+ grafts are going to make a huge difference for you, so please keep all of us here posted so we can monitor your results along the way! Happy healing and growth to you, and congratulations again!

 

Best,

 

Mike

[poweralley87]

Slim Jim, cant decide, shampoo, agent eye,

 

Thank you all for your comments and I will definitely keep you up to date with the results over the coming months. I am looking forward to seeing how things turn out.

 

Janna,

 

I'm not sure why my skin is like that, but I definitely haven't had any prior surgeries. I posted a few of my pre op pics already so maybe we can wait until we see the six month results to give a comparison..Also, no worries on the flight, they actually upgraded my seat for the next flight anyway, and I'm happy I got to come in and have my first wash done. Thanks!

[poweralley87]

few more close ups day 3

[SADbutTRUE]

welcome to the forums and heal well and good growth to you,

[BadBeat]

Looks great! I did a 1500 FUE in April with Dr. Ron Shapiro and I couldn't be happier. Whether it's FUT or FUE, they put out superb results. I'm sure you will be happy too. Heal well and get ready for some fun times ahead when your new hair starts sprouting!

[hairneededht]

Congrats Powerally and wish you great growth. Hope everything is coming along well for you.

This is my first post here and i am scheduled to get the procedure done next month. Would be interesting to follow your case as i am close to your situation considering age and hair loss.

 

Are you in meds ?

[orlhair1]

Congrats on your surgery. Look forward to seeing your results. Should look great and make a big difference for you.

[StaggerLee123]

few more close ups day 3

 

Looks very clean for 3 days. Some guys at 3 days are an oozing collection of scabs. Good luck and grow well.

[poweralley87]

sorry havent been on for a little while, thanks for all for the comments! Still no growth yet but not expecting any for about another month and a half. I pretty much just look how I did before the procedure.

 

hairneededht,

congrats on the procedure, and yes I am definitely on meds. I think it is a good idea if you are getting a ht. If you take them you can hopefully keep what you have and possibly regrow. I am on rogaine and proscar. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions about the procedure.

 

Staggerlee,

 

I agree it was very clean. Throughout the whole process I never really had any oozing or bleeding which was pretty awesome.

 

Ill post some new pics when I start noticing the growth!