Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) Hi Folks, I sincerely appreciate & thanks HairRestorationNetwork for all the guidance & support. The best feeling in the world is knowing that you finally took a step in the right direction, a step towards a better future. I am excited, positive & hoping for this best after this procedure. BIG thanks to all the fellow members for their support & help especially Matt1978, Spanker, Janna & Hariri. I just reached hotel after a mega session with Dr Ron Shapiro. After almost 1 year of extensive reseach I decided to go ahead with Dr Ron Shapiro of SMG. Matt Zupan was great during the consultation & answered all my questions. We planned for 4500 grafts via FUT however we were able to just extract 4023 for this session. I was little disappointed with this. However I really hope 4023 grafts will give me solid base & the transformation I am looking towards. I drove from Chicago to Bloomington MN for the procedure (that's where SMG is located). I reached at 8 AM local time. They started taking my pre op pics. After that I spent around 30 mins with Dr Ron Shapiro to discuss the action plan. After taking to him I was pretty certain that I am in safe hands. Right after session with Dr. Shapiro, the staff immediately came into action as this was a mega session. They took my blood pressure & then strip was extracted. I had to lay down on my stomach for about 30 mins during this procedure. Once the strip was extracted I saw technicians working towards grafts extraction. Then doc Shapiro started incursions, created the hairline which was discussed during the acton plan. I just wanted to start this blog just track down the progress of my HT. I will write my experince in detail soon. Right now I am too tired after that mega procedure. Many thanks to Dr Shapiro & the staff for taking caring of everything so professionally & nicely. I appreciate it from from bottom of my heart. I am attaching pre ops pics. Thanks Sunny Edited October 26, 2014 by SunnyCool3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Some post ops pics - comments are welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 pls comment provide honest feedback. Thanks in advance, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 1hair grafts 788 2hair grafts 2578 3hair grafts 657 Total grafts: 4023 Total hairs: 7915 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted October 23, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Congratulations Sunny! As you are well aware, you chose one of the best surgeons in the world for your procedure. The work looks very clean and refined and the plan shows an excellent use of 4,000 grafts. I'm sure you'll be thrilled once you reach the end of your journey. Best of luck! 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...
Pete-from-Farjo Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Looks like excellent work. Congrats I am an online representative for Farjo Hair Institute Dr. Bessam Farjo is an esteemed member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions shared are my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hairisimportant Posted October 23, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Congrats sunny! You seem to be on track after one month. Next year by this time you'll be sunnycoolhair!! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member CAMPBELL Posted October 23, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Looks great. Good choice of surgeon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member 1978matt Posted October 23, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Nice one, and while you say it was 'only' 4023 grafts you still got 300 more hairs than I did. Also, the top of your head looks smaller than average so I'd say there is reason to be highly optimistic . BTW, you will look even more like this guy once it has grown out: Michael Pe?a - IMDb lol 4,312 FUT grafts (7,676 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2013 1,145 FUE grafts (3,152 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2018 763 FUE grafts (2,094 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - January 2020 Proscar 1.25mg every 3rd day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member t00ktheplunge Posted October 23, 2014 Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Looking good so far. Best of luck!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 I reached hotel at around 7.30 PM after the procedure. My wife took these pics around 9 PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Nice one, and while you say it was 'only' 4023 grafts you still got 300 more hairs than I did. Also, the top of your head looks smaller than average so I'd say there is reason to be highly optimistic . BTW, you will look even more like this guy once it has grown out: Michael Pe?a - IMDb lol Hey Matt, I thank you for taking time out to answer my questions. I am sure that you have had been really busy and I appreciate you taking the time to respond personally to my messages. Thank you again. Man I would be delighted if my results are 70% as good as yours :-) Regards, Sunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) Congratulations Sunny! As you are well aware, you chose one of the best surgeons in the world for your procedure. The work looks very clean and refined and the plan shows an excellent use of 4,000 grafts. I'm sure you'll be thrilled once you reach the end of your journey. Best of luck! David, thanks for the kind words. I'll surely notify everyone with the latest updates. Dr Ron is defo one of the best in the world. SMG is a dream team. Edited October 26, 2014 by SunnyCool3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Congrats sunny! You seem to be on track after one month. Next year by this time you'll be sunnycoolhair!! Cheers Thanks mate, hope you are healing well. I'll look forward to see some pics after 6 weeks or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Looking good so far. Best of luck!!! Thanks.. appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 More pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Spanker Posted October 23, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Congratulations. I agree with everything that has been said. It looks like an excellent use of grafts. Conservative enough for your loss but not too densely placed. One question I have is if you are on finasteride or not. My prediction is that you'll have a great outcome and depending on the caliber of your hair and hair greed may reach out for another procedure. However I feel very confident that ten months from now you'll have a nice natural really and look much better than pre op. Good luck. I am an online representative for Dr. Raymond Konior who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. View Dr. Konior's Website View Spanker's Website I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 23, 2014 Hi Spanker, Thanks for the valuable feedback. Yes i am using Propecia but its just been 2 months only. I'll continue to use Propecia from here on. 5 mg per week approximately. Right after procedure I started using post OP spray provided by SMG. I am using it almost every 30 mins to ensure grafts are never dry. I am using CraftCyte shampoo which was provided by smg post procedure. Dr Ron suggested using rogan foam once a day but after 3 weeks post OP or so. I'll consider that. There are couple of other medicine i am using again those were provided by SMG. I will start taking daily vitamins after few days. Regards Sunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Janna Posted October 24, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 24, 2014 Hi Sunny, Your recipient area will heal very well if you use the Liposomal ATP spray as we recommended. The blue/purple skin dye will fade fairly quickly with each shampoo. Thanks for posting and looking forward to following your progress. All the best! 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 therambler Posted October 28, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 28, 2014 Hi SunnyCool, Glad to see you're on the other side of the OP now and the work looks very clean. This will turn out great I'm sure! FUT with Dr. Konior in 2014 - 3814 grafts - Thread FUE with Dr. Pinto in May 2022 - 3252 grafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 28, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 28, 2014 Hi SunnyCool, Glad to see you're on the other side of the OP now and the work looks very clean. This will turn out great I'm sure! Thanks man. Hoping for the best. Surgery went really smooth and I've been healing well. I am going to Dr Konior's clinic for sutures removal on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 29, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 29, 2014 I had very bad swelling around forehead and eyes between day 2 - 4. I couldn't even open my right eye for couple of days. I applied ice packs which helped a little. However it's getting back to normal now as swelling is under control. It seems that was just part of the process. I had some itchiness & pain (not very bad) around donor area. I believe it will be better once sutures are removed. At times I take pain killer which was provided by SMG. Janna suggested Advil (or Ibuprofen) to help with inflammation, irritation, & pain. I will see if irritation is under control once staples are removed on Friday. I am really looking forward to that. I haven't started using Rogaine foam yet. I plan to wait for another 10 to 14 days before I start using it. I am attaching some day 9 pics. Please comment & provide feedback. I think the grafts are about to shed which will start ugly duckling phase. I've 3 more weeks left before I go back to work. I think it's a good enough time to come up with an action plan and try different looks using concealers like Nanogen etc (if required). I think I have enough hair on the sides to cover up the scalp area so might not use Nanogen at all. That's what Dr Ron also told me that I wouldn't need any concealers. Let's see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hadenough2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 29, 2014 Looking good, Sunny! I worry about the ugly duckling phase a little bit too, but I am thinking the best thing to do is trim my sides and back down as far as I dare (without exposing scar) to basically make it look like I made a choice to not have my hair so long or hide the top anymore. In our "before" pictures, you and I both wore our hair pretty long, probably to give the appearance of more of it...the reality, however, is that we never really had much left on top. Other people could see that fact even if we felt we had more hair than we really did by wearing it longer. So a trim down probably would look like just that to other people - a trim. I am also thinking about growing out a 5 o'clock shadow beard - a look no one has ever seen me in before. That would throw off ugly duckling attention as well, and it is perfect timing as cold weather approaches. Just some thoughts/ideas as you look ahead to shedding and heading back to work...I know that has been a concern for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SunnyCool3 Posted October 29, 2014 Author Senior Member Share Posted October 29, 2014 Looking good, Sunny! I worry about the ugly duckling phase a little bit too, but I am thinking the best thing to do is trim my sides and back down as far as I dare (without exposing scar) to basically make it look like I made a choice to not have my hair so long or hide the top anymore. In our "before" pictures, you and I both wore our hair pretty long, probably to give the appearance of more of it...the reality, however, is that we never really had much left on top. Other people could see that fact even if we felt we had more hair than we really did by wearing it longer. So a trim down probably would look like just that to other people - a trim. I am also thinking about growing out a 5 o'clock shadow beard - a look no one has ever seen me in before. That would throw off ugly duckling attention as well, and it is perfect timing as cold weather approaches. Just some thoughts/ideas as you look ahead to shedding and heading back to work...I know that has been a concern for you. Thanks. These are some cool ideas. I'll try different things before I go back to work. I also have an idea of growing beard in my mind. My office environment is very formal & professional so wearing hat isn't an option. :mad: I think picture will be more clear once shedding concludes. Then I can experiment a bit with my looks before going back to office. Scalp camouflaging/concealing agents like Nanogen, Dermmatch etc might help however I have never used them before so I have no clue. But they are worth trying during ugly duckling phase. I took 4 weeks off from work and can manage to work from home for a week. So I got 5 weeks in hands. Also, I have noticed that lots of people go on vacation for Christmas etc in December. December is slow month as far as work is concerned. I will be doing work from home a lot in December. I'll try my best to put this whole hair transplant thing on back burner for 4 months and spend some quality time with my family. These days I am trying to improve my rankings on Chess.com and trying to research some cool openings in chess - keeps me busy!!! This is much better than checking in the mirror on a daily/hourly basis. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member SADbutTRUE Posted October 29, 2014 Senior Member Share Posted October 29, 2014 welcome to the forums and congrats on your recent surgery with SMG, heal well and heres to great growth, keep us posted, it will be nice to follow two solid cases from SMG, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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