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3988 grafts with Dr. Paul Shapiro


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Hi all. This is my first thread post. I am keeping a blog and photos as well on this site. I had a large session (3988 grafts for 8200 hairs) with Dr. Paul on October 17, 2014. It is now Day 11 and so far, so good in most respects. I had a great experience at the Shapiro Medical Group, and no pain at any point in the procedure. I was told I bled very little during the procedure, and my grafts hardly had scabs over the last 10 days. The redness has faded quickly as well (pic below makes it look more red than it really is). The staples were removed yesterday and the scar looks good - still a little redness hanging on at the donor scar. I know this scar will take up to a year or more to look optimal as it continues to heal, but he used the best closure procedure available, so I expect the best results possible. I am starting into the shedding phase now with the hairline graft hairs starting to go first. I have some flaking on the scalp. I hope that will go away as the shedding concludes.

 

The hard part for me now is making my head look "normal" to the point where I didn't have anything done while I wait for growth. The Dr. shaved the native hairs on the top of my head for the graft placements, and now I fear I will look more like a Norwood VII (I was Norwood V before the procedure) once the grafts shed and my native hair on top has not grown back yet or is still suffering from shock loss. Only my wife is involved in this decision so far, but I know eventually others will notice. I am fine with that and look forward to talking about it when the time comes, but for now I want to get through the Ugly Duckling phase with as little ugly as possible. I would like to make it appear I cut everything really short. However, I cannot trim the sides and back as short as the top due to the scar healing. Any ideas as to what people do to get through this phase for the next few months? Does anyone cut it short and then use a concealer (like Toppix) on the scar? I could probably go down to a 3 on the clipper without much scar being noticeable, but that's still not as short as what it will be on top.

 

I have attached Day 11 pics of the top and back so you can see my hair type. It is wavy in the back and that creates some openings for the scar to show when it naturally separates.

 

I went to Dr. Shapiro after extensive research of docs and largely out of his natural hairline results. To me, nothing is as important as a natural hairline that fits your head type, hair type, recession levels on the sides, and your (slightly) younger self. I think a "messy" hairline is a natural hairline in my case, and it seems he delivered that staggered, messy look. I did not want the hairline too low. I never had a really low hairline. A very crisp, straight hairline would be all wrong for me as well. I think he artistically approached it in the right way, and I have been happy so far with how the hairline looks as the grafts have grown a bit in the first 10 days.

 

I'll try to keep posts updated as I go. Below are photos from left to right: Day 11 top, Day 11 back, and the Before photo from top.

5b32e21c17081_SMG-Day11top.JPG.ce29ff86e665972bd34d0a618148a635.JPG

5b32e21c2ba28_SMG-Day11back.JPG.3ce25455ca484767cc00fa683df69725.JPG

Before.JPG.f1550ee4392831d22ec30b28c489d04f.JPG

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Any frontal shots? Fuzzy photos but you're in good hands. Keep us updated.

I am an online representative for Dr. Raymond Konior who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

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I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice.

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Thanks for the replies so far. Sorry I don't have better photos. I've taken most of them myself, which is hard to do. I actually didn't get too caught up in doing photos now because I actually thought shedding would start sooner so I kind of thought "what's the point". The best day to get a frontal photo would have been about 2 days ago when the grafts were longer and the hairline was very visible and showed very well how it has been built. I missed that window, however, as the shedding started and the singles out front went first.

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Thanks for the replies so far. Sorry I don't have better photos. I've taken most of them myself, which is hard to do. I actually didn't get too caught up in doing photos now because I actually thought shedding would start sooner so I kind of thought "what's the point". The best day to get a frontal photo would have been about 2 days ago when the grafts were longer and the hairline was very visible and showed very well how it has been built. I missed that window, however, as the shedding started and the singles out front went first.

 

SMG probably took pics at the clinic so you can always request them from Janna if need be.

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Any frontal shots? Fuzzy photos but you're in good hands. Keep us updated.

 

Here is a frontal shot (using iPhone). Though this was from Day 11 after surgery. I was about 24 hours into the shedding, so quite a few of the single hairline graft hairs had already shed at this point. The corners transitioning to the sides had also shed a lot, so this photos does not give the transition justice.

 

I am now in Day 12 and the shedding is in full attack mode. It's OK, though, it is fully expected and the Dr. office told me it is important to shed so grafts are not stuck with stalled hairs.

 

I will trim my sides and back in a few days after I see if any of my native hair survived the shock loss.

 

Also attached a pic of the donor scar, which is looking quite good at this stage.

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5b32e22a1cf56_SMG-Day12scar3.jpg.1805ad9cb93b3fd403852e1ca8c1c8f4.jpg

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Day 21 update

 

Just a top pic and one scar pic. Shed almost all of the hairs in the front 3rd now. Some on top and on the crown still hanging on, but I expect most of them will go as well over the next week to 10 days. I think some of my native hair remained and did not fall out due to shock loss, as there are now some longer hairs on top and near the crown where grafts were installed. The grafts hairs I would guess are the shorter ones. It doesn't really matter...let's be honest, there wasn't much up there anyway!

 

Now the waiting really begins with the scar in good shape and shedding almost complete.

 

I am on Rogaine Foam daily and Propecia 1.25mg every third day.

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5b32e26f6ce24_SMG-Day21Front.JPG.af1218e12ebe7a02ef038efb5543edf3.JPG

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Thanks, Sad. I appreciate the support! It is now Day 25 and I do not have any new pictures to post. Nothing really new has happened other than I lost a few more hairs to shedding. The shedding seems to have slowed down dramatically, but I expect there are some more yet to go, maybe 10% remain. It also looks like most of my native hairs that the Dr. cut during the procedure have survived shock loss (so far) and are growing longer, so hopefully I will be looking much nearer my pre-op self in the next couple of weeks. That will make the waiting period much easier to bear if ugly duckling is minimized a bit. Scar is doing very well, and I only have a little tightness back there...very mild. I never did have much pain or tightness at the donor area. Just a little tender to the touch in certain areas. The top recipient area is still a little numb, though I can feel it fading from day to day.

 

All seems to be going well so far.

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Thanks, Sad. I appreciate the support! It is now Day 25 and I do not have any new pictures to post. Nothing really new has happened other than I lost a few more hairs to shedding. The shedding seems to have slowed do|wn dramatically, but I expect there are some more yet to go, maybe 10% remain. It also looks like most of my native hairs that the Dr. cut during the procedure have survived shock loss (so far) and are growing longer, so hopefully I will be looking much nearer my pre-op self in the next couple of weeks. That will make the waiting period much easier to bear if ugly duckling is minimized a bit. Scar is doing very well, and I only have a little tightness back there...very mild. I never did have much pain or tightness at the donor area. Just a little tender to the touch in certain areas. The top recipient area is still a little numb, though I can feel it fading from day to day.

 

All seems to be going well so far.

 

Thanks for the update.

Have you noticed any pimples on the recipient area?

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Hi Sunny. No, I have no pimples. It is a little dry right on top and I was thinking about emailing the Dr. about that to see if there is a remedy at this stage, but I think it may be from the Rogaine Foam. If you have pimples, did you try the warm compress yet?

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Hi Sunny. No, I have no pimples. It is a little dry right on top and I was thinking about emailing the Dr. about that to see if there is a remedy at this stage, but I think it may be from the Rogaine Foam. If you have pimples, did you try the warm compress yet?

 

Hey, I started getting pimples in last 2 to 3 days. Today I started warm compress to see if that helps.

I spoke to Janna & abt to send her some pics and the pharmacy number so that prescription could be written if required.

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Hey, I started getting pimples in last 2 to 3 days. Today I started warm compress to see if that helps.

I spoke to Janna & abt to send her some pics and the pharmacy number so that prescription could be written if required.

 

I went through a pretty frustrating phase with pimples. The warm compresses seemed to be the best way to deal with them. I'd use them 3-4 times a day for 2-3 days and that would clear them up. I thought they were going to seriously impact my outcome but as you can see from my avatar they didn't. Or if they did, I can't tell. At the time though, they kind of freaked me out.

3,425 FUT grafts with Dr Raymond Konior - Nov 2013

1,600 FUE grafts with Dr Raymond Konior - Dec 2018

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I went through a pretty frustrating phase with pimples. The warm compresses seemed to be the best way to deal with them. I'd use them 3-4 times a day for 2-3 days and that would clear them up. I thought they were going to seriously impact my outcome but as you can see from my avatar they didn't. Or if they did, I can't tell. At the time though, they kind of freaked me out.

 

Hi, I've started doing warm compress on the pimples today.

I've just posted pics on my thread. Please take a look.

Actually it's not that bad. I see 6 to 7 pimples look like small red bumps.

I am little worried about any situation like folliculitis and/or inflamation. So just trying to be proactive in dealing with any complications.

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I looked at your pics. Hard to tell, but it doesn't look like folliculitis. Mine looked worse, but I took pics under very bright light, so they always looked more angry and red. I was proactive as well, but with every outbreak that subsided, it seemed like another one started shortly thereafter. Again, it was just a phase. Seems like a distant memory now, but at the time, it was worrisome.

3,425 FUT grafts with Dr Raymond Konior - Nov 2013

1,600 FUE grafts with Dr Raymond Konior - Dec 2018

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I'll try to get better pics tomorrow. Also let's see what doc says tomorrow.

Quick question, is it okay to still use rogaine foam in this situation? I've asked this question to doc as well and will follow his advice. I was just wondering what you did in this situation?

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I'll try to get better pics tomorrow. Also let's see what doc says tomorrow.

Quick question, is it okay to still use rogaine foam in this situation? I've asked this question to doc as well and will follow his advice. I was just wondering what you did in this situation?

 

I don't use Rogaine, only Propecia.

3,425 FUT grafts with Dr Raymond Konior - Nov 2013

1,600 FUE grafts with Dr Raymond Konior - Dec 2018

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