Dr. Paul Shapiro -- FUE 2553/5562

DonnyJ · February 9, 2015

Hi guys. I'm new to the site, but I've lurked for some time now... after several years of debate, and many struggles with propecia (extreme mental sides -- brain fog, migraines, terrible vision problems, anxiety, etc.) I recently decided that now was the time to pull the trigger and to undergo surgery. After much research, I landed on Shapiro Medical Group in Minneapolis (Bloomington), MN. My FUE procedure took place roughly 10 days ago with Dr. Paul Shapiro -- here's my experience thus far:

Heading into my surgery date, I had a whole plethora of emotions -- nervous, anxious, hoping for the best, etc...My biggest concern at the time (and still today), however, was "what will people think of me if they knew I underwent a hair transplant?" Because of this, I've decided to keep this to myself. And so, for the past 10 days now (as well as the next 10 days, as is the plan), I've basically been camping out at my home and have been making up excuses and lies to my friends & family to avoid seeing anybody until my donor region grows back to a length where I can pass it off as just being a shorter-than-usual haircut. I feel terrible about having to go through these tactics, but it's the decision I've made and I'm working through it...Along these same lines, this is why I chose to not shave my entire head (to leave the recipient area unshaven -- the "goal" of mine is that after a few weeks, I'll be able to pass my haircut off as just being a shorter cut.

All of that said, SMG did an excellent job of making me feel comfortable upon arrival. Dr. Paul Shapiro was able to go through my history, answer my questions, and work with me to determine a surgical plan. I believe that my goals were realistic -- for me, this procedure was equally (if not moreso) pro-active/preventative as it was corrective. I only wanted a slight increase to the hairline (I'm still fairly young, so I wanted to consider having a mature hairline moving forward), and the rest of my grafts I wanted to use to increase density & to prolong my current aesthetics.

I've documented my progression, which I'll use the next couple posts to bring this up-to-speed with where I stand today. Please let me know your thoughts on how things appear to be going.

My absolute biggest concern right now is in regards to shock loss -- I've been trying to do some reading on it (without scaring myself too much), but I haven't come across an answer of a.) how often extreme shock loss occurs? b.) at what point shock loss starts at, c.) what (if anything) I can do to prevent it?

...I'm concerned mostly because I have existing hair in the transplanted region today, and because I've been off propecia for roughly 9 months now, so I may be susceptible to loss as it is. Just yesterday, I began noticing shedding starting to occur when running my hand through my hair in the bathroom...can I owe this to the fact that I've been off of my rogaine/s5/nizoral for 10 days now, or is this potentially shock loss starting already?

Another FYI: I've been taking biotin 5000mcg 2x's daily as well as MSM 1000mg 2x's daily to help increase the donor region hair growth. I also plan to start using rogaine in that area starting the next couple days (once my scabs have fully healed). Let me know if this is advised/ill-advised. Thanks!

One last note: I was in heavy contact with Matt Zupan this past year and a half and if you've had the opportunity to speak with him, then you'll know that he's super easy to talk to and I couldn't be happier with my communications. Likewise, Janna Shafer has been very helpful post-op, taking my texts/calls in the evening & weekend hours -- if either of you two happen to read this, then I thank you very much for your hard work.

DonnyJ · February 9, 2015

pre/post-op photos, taken at SMG. The surgery itself took place over the course of 2 days. 1022/2271 on day 1, and 1531/3291 on day 2. Dr. Josephitis led the extraction, and Dr. Paul led the transplantation. I was told that .7-.9mm punches were used.

DonnyJ · February 9, 2015

the breakdown:

1s - 519/519

1.5s - 4/6

2s - 1078/2156

2.5s - 4/10

3s - 918/2754

3.5s - 5/17

4s - 25/100

DonnyJ · February 9, 2015

6 days post-op

DonnyJ · February 9, 2015

i'll take/post my 10-day photos later today. any input would be appreciated -- thanks!

wazaam · February 10, 2015

I think the work looks pretty clean and donor appears to be healing well.

What extraction method/tool was used and what tool was used to do the implantation of the procedure.

How is the S5 cream working as a replacement to the propecia and RU58841? Have you experienced any sides with this and does it seem to be helping.

I wouldn't worry about the shock loss too much as most of that hair will return that wasn't going to go anyways.

Best of luck with your results. Looks good so far!

Please keep your thread updated so we can follow your progress.

DonnyJ · February 10, 2015

I think the work looks pretty clean and donor appears to be healing well.

What extraction method/tool was used and what tool was used to do the implantation of the procedure.

How is the S5 cream working as a replacement to the propecia and RU58841? Have you experienced any sides with this and does it seem to be helping.

I wouldn't worry about the shock loss too much as most of that hair will return that wasn't going to go anyways.

Best of luck with your results. Looks good so far!

Please keep your thread updated so we can follow your progress.

Thanks wazaam. the extraction was manual, and I think that Aseptico was used as part of the process (I would need to verify this with SMG). I was informed that .7-.9mm punctures were used. The incisions were of type saggital.

In regards to the s5 cream, I have not experienced any side effects from the use of it yet. i remain skeptical as to just how effective it is, but after doing much research, this was the best alternative option out there right now. I've done a pretty good job of maintaining my hair thus far (FYI: I also use rogaine in the front & crown, as well as nizorl 2% 3x's a week), BUT, as mentioned, I'm at that ~9-month post-fin mark, so I expect that the s5 won't continue to hold up as strong as it has in recent past, now that I'm nearing the time when most people say that they really begin to lose what they gained from the propecia. I remain optimistic. The post-fin timing of this also played a role in helping me decide to finally do a HT, and to help shape my decision for exactly how aggressive I wanted to be (in both density & design) with my transplant.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for the feedback!

DonnyJ · February 10, 2015

10-day post-op:

I'm yet to experience any "real" scabbing in the recipient area. I've had a fair share of flaking, but nothing significant in regards to what can be seen at-a-glance. I'm unsure if I can owe this to the quality of the work, the small size of the incisions, if I'm just a good healer, or if any larger/visual scabbing is still yet to come? It's also worth noting that I haven't experienced much shedding of the transplanted hairs at this point either.

Also, in case anybody is wondering, I finally went to the hair salon today and got the the rest of my cut faded in. you'll see this when I post my 14-day photos

One other piece worth noting: I'm aware that there can often be some prolonged numbness at the graft sites. I experienced that throughout the first week, but at this point, things feel 95% back to normal up top.

Again, any input and/or questions would be great. Thanks!

wazaam · February 10, 2015

The donor looks great for 10 days post op.

wazaam · February 11, 2015

Did they give you an idea about your donor capacity for future procedures?

It appears to be pretty dense and I would assume that you have 7-8K but would like to know what SMG stated in terms of your donor capacity.

DonnyJ · February 11, 2015

Did they give you an idea about your donor capacity for future procedures?

It appears to be pretty dense and I would assume that you have 7-8K but would like to know what SMG stated in terms of your donor capacity.

I was told to expect roughly 4k for future use...I shutter at the thought of having to do this again anytime soon, but that's likely what's unfortunately in store for me if I want to stay on top of it.

SADbutTRUE · February 11, 2015

welcome to the forums, congrats on your recent surgery, heal well and heres to great growth .matt and janna are both great in answering any questions you may have.

Janna · February 11, 2015

Hi DonnyJ,

Thanks for posting about your experience and keeping your progress updates on the forums. Your healing is looking right on schedule. You mention that you didn't see much scabbing at 10 days post op but to me There seems to be tiny scabs still remaining. The scabs will come off in the next few days with daily massaging during shampoos. It's looking great.

Thanks again for posting and fingers crossed that you don't experience any noticeable shock loss!

____________________

Clinical Operations Manager for Shapiro Medical Group.

janna@shapiromedical.com

Shapiro Medical Group - Hair Transplantation and Hair Restoration

fortune11 · February 12, 2015

DonnyJ - Congrats on the procedure and looks like it is coming along exactly as it should so far.

You are in good hands with SMG, esp with regards to hairline work. I got my very first HT with them 11 years ago and I didn't really think much about progressive hairloss back then but I am glad Dr Ron Shapiro did and had the foresight -- the hairline he gave me was unbelievable and looks super natural now that I am 40 , also preserving donor hair for subsequent work further back in the scalp --- I can attest to it now given my hair loss has progressed (I ended up getting HT #2 and #3 subsequently) .

Rawkerboi · February 12, 2015

Neat work man!Keep us updated

Are you still camping out ? or back to home?

Heal well!!

DonnyJ · February 13, 2015

Did they give you an idea about your donor capacity for future procedures?

It appears to be pretty dense and I would assume that you have 7-8K but would like to know what SMG stated in terms of your donor capacity.

Neat work man!Keep us updated
Are you still camping out ? or back to home?

Heal well!!

I've gone out a couple times with friends these past couple days, but I've just worn a hat and nobody said anything. I'll be seeing my family this weekend, and plan to wear a hat as well, but I'll just say that I received a short haircut...no biggie I think. Perfectly honest: if it were normal for me to have a shorter haircut, then I really didn't have anything visible after about day 7 or 8. I do still have most of my transplanted hairs intact, but they really aren't visible at all unless you're right up in my business.

I'll take/post my 2-week photos tomorrow. It'll be nice to be able to start using Rogaine again, as I believe that I've been losing some hairs due to being off of it for too long now.

DonnyJ · February 18, 2015

apologies, as i failed to post my 14-day post-op photos very timely. i did, however, take the photos on time, so i'm just posting them now. i included a few shots with flash this time a well to give a different perspective:

DonnyJ · March 7, 2015

my [just over] 1 month post-op photos... note that i've moved, so the lighting may be inconsistent with the previous photos. included flash & non-flash photography as well.. it appears that there is still some pinkness under flash: