Who's a good strip doctor with little scarring?

[thaiphan]

Basic info:

Male, 32 yo, Asian

I got FUE transplant from Paul Shapiro back in Jan. 2011. It totaled around 1400 grafts. I was not happy with the end results. They said that the survival rate of each graft was about 70%, but by the end of 12 months only 50% have survived. The reason I did FUE was because I was afraid of the scarring. Now it seems like strip is my only option, as my FUE survival rate sucks.

Who is a good doctor for the strip method with little scarring? Are they familiar with Asian hair?

[Spanker]

Do you have any 12 month photos? Have you asked SMG about doing a strip? I know that you didn't get the results that you were hoping for, but they are still a top clinic and you may be able to get a break in the rate if you only had between 50 and 70 percent growth.

[Mickey85]

Shapiro are not known for being amazing FUE surgeons. There are other surgeons out there that are much better at FUE than Shapiro such as Erdogan, Hakan, Lorenzo, Bisanga etc. I would personally look into those surgeons first before going into the more invasive strip method but that is just me. I would not go strip with your low level of hairloss.

[Janna]

Back in the early days of doing fue, we were definitely more conservative. All the data and reports about fue were that the yield on the average was approximately 70%. Due to lower yield and graft survival of fue grafts, our physicians planned smaller sessions knowing patients could always add more in the future. Since then, we have implemented many changes to our fue protocol because we were not satisfied with the industry's 70% yield. Due to these changes, I strongly believe our current yield is 90 to 98%. I also believe that we have produced many "amazing" results via our fue method.

 

1400 grafts isn't a lot, especially utilizing mostly 1 and 2 hair grafts for the hairline. We would estimate that thaiphan achieved 70-80% yield. He sent us 12 months pics and there is definite growth and improvement. I can post the pics that Thaiphan sent us with his face blocked if he consents.

 

Had we done a strip, we probably would be done closer to 1800-2000 grafts in the same area. Since Thaiphan has started out with FUE, we'd advise him to stick to fue. All he needs is more hairs to achieve his goals. We always stand by our work and support our patients so we'd be happy to work with thaipan on his goals.

[Mickey85]

[quote name=. I also believe that we have produced many "amazing" results via our fue method.

 

 

I respectfully disagree. You guys do great strip work but your fue is not up there in quality, quantity and consistecy as lorenzo, bisanga, feriduni etc. Just my opinion.

[Fue123]

I respectfully disagree. You guys do great strip work but your fue is not up there in quality, quantity and consistecy as lorenzo, bisanga, feriduni etc. Just my opinion.

 

She didn't claim to be those guys. Only that they do turn out some amazing fue results. But I do agree with you, those guys are top notch and it's important to find an fue only clinic especially for a second go around.

[Spanker]

I respectfully disagree. You guys do great strip work but your fue is not up there in quality, quantity and consistecy as lorenzo, bisanga, feriduni etc. Just my opinion.

 

 

I agree with the "quantity" part of the statement, but the FUE results from SMG that I have seen are very good.

[Mickey85]

She didn't claim to be those guys. Only that they do turn out some amazing fue results. But I do agree with you, those guys are top notch and it's important to find an fue only clinic especially for a second go around.

 

I know she did not claim to be those guys. That was an elaboration of my part. I haven't seen too many amazing FUE results from Shapiro, especially patient posted results. I'm sure some people will disagree. That is fine.

[thaiphan]

Well, Shapiro Medical Group called me back yesterday regarding my post. I told them that I felt like only 50% perfect of my transplant yielded, but they disagreed with me, saying that it's around 70%. They are concerned that I'm not happy with the results, and they want me to come back to them with a discount graft price along with a certain amount of free grafts. I'm still waiting for them to respond for what they can do for me. I don't know what to do though. I don't know if I should go with another doctor who's very reputable in FUE, or give SMG a chance to redeem themselves?

 

PS. Notice the empty spots at the recipient area.

[SADbutTRUE]

welcome to the forums and thanks for sharing your story, the post op pic dosent look like you need a lot of work done just a touch up, your hair looks in great shape, in the after pic, if your planning to get less then 1000 grafts I stick with fue, no point in getting a strip scar for a few amount of grafts,

[Spanker]

When someone pulls their hair back like that, it is really hard to tell what is going on. From that pic, your hair looks good.

 

I would trust SMG for FUE, but that is just me. They would not still be doing it if they weren't doing it well.

[scar5]

Looking for an ear-to-ear scar seems silly, especially as you have already seen the light. So the FUE didn't work out great, that doesn't mean you have to go strip now.

 

Of course, we are all in a different spot, and I don't know if you have completely changed your priorities, but I'm guessing you still want the same, and the same 'lack of linear scar' that drove you to FUE in the first place. I believe ten strip yield is still better, but I am so far behind the curve I don't have any confidence in that as a recommendation. . But you could be more determined and really check it out.

 

Good luck.

[Rem]

I agree....does not mean you need to go for Strip considering you need small number. There are many helpful, experienced people on this forum and few have already commented and I hope others also chime in on your case.

 

BTW I had FUE with Dr. Paul Shapiro just a week back.

[Mickey85]

Well, Shapiro Medical Group called me back yesterday regarding my post. I told them that I felt like only 50% perfect of my transplant yielded, but they disagreed with me, saying that it's around 70%. They are concerned that I'm not happy with the results, and they want me to come back to them with a discount graft price along with a certain amount of free grafts. I'm still waiting for them to respond for what they can do for me. I don't know what to do though. I don't know if I should go with another doctor who's very reputable in FUE, or give SMG a chance to redeem themselves?

 

PS. Notice the empty spots at the recipient area.

 

I thought Janna said they stand by their patients? Yet they want to charge(even discounted) you for coming back? I would go to Dr Erdogan man, it would be cheaper and he is much more adept at FUE.

 

In terms of your result, that looks much less than a 70% yield..

[thaiphan]

I thought Janna said they stand by their patients? Yet they want to charge(even discounted) you for coming back? I would go to Dr Erdogan man, it would be cheaper and he is much more adept at FUE.

 

In terms of your result, that looks much less than a 70% yield..

 

They got back to me yesterday. Because I got about 1400 grafts and felt that only 50% yielded, they are going to give me 700 grafts for free. I noticed that I receded a bit further back, so I told them I would need more work done. They agreed to give me a very reasonable rate for the extra grafts I will need. I'm trying to get the process done soon, and will post before and after pics this time around.

[Mickey85]

That seems very fair then. Whether you go back to them is up to you.