2450 FUT Grafts with Dr. Ron Shapiro Yesterday

[esrec]

I'm 16 hours removed from surgery with Dr. Ron Shapiro.

 

Apologies in advance if this is scattered, the drugs are still treating me nicely Posted 2 pictures. Please be gentle, as I'm still beat up and my head looks kind of messy.

 

I'm feeling surprisingly well. I woke up this more with some tenderness but no legitimate pain and no bleeding. Of course, this could change. I'll plan to share progress and pictures regularly for anyone that's interested.

 

 

9/28: Pre Op Consult: Traveled from New York to Minneapolis on Monday and went directly to Dr. Ron's office for a consultation. We spoke for about two hours going over expectations, goals, graft placement and just about every other question I could possibly think of. Incredibly thorough. I was very appreciative for how collaborative this process felt. I left feeling very confident and comfortable as a result of the details we covered. And yes, we spoke at LENGTH about FUT vs FUE too

 

9/29: Surgery Day: Arrived yesterday morning at 8am met by an incredibly warm and welcoming staff. I cannot speak highly enough about the entire group. This makes a world of difference.

 

I picked my lunch for the day, threw on my fancy gown, went over my goals one final time and got started. A large team was there and ready to roll--3 technicians to prepare the grafts, another 3 technicians to assist placements with Dr. Ron. I was his only surgery of the day. I watched 3 movies but forgot most of them. Was pretty high. Sitting in a chair for 8 hours was easily the most taxing part.

 

Strip/Donor Area: Was most concerned about mobility afterward but the pain as of now is pretty minimal and mobility fine. Some light tingling and tenderness but thats really it. Admittedly haven't looked at donor area except for a quick glance but it's fully covered by hair and the scar size/length looked ok. Overall pain-3/10.

 

**** I was told my hair density was extremely high. Not sure what these #'s mean but average density is supposedly 75-100, mine was 129. As a result I think we were able to grab more than initially intended or needed. Subsequently, scar not as long or wide.

 

Recipient area: Looks fine right now. No pain. We did some minor shaving, against my initial plan, but with lots of hair left and many fine hairs in my highest frustration area,I decided to suck it up. It just made sense. I dont return to work until November 15. By then concealers should be more than fine to use and the lightly cut hairs should be normal length.

 

Hairline: Happy with initial look but trying not to scrutinize just yet. Obviously I'm only 16 hours out but feel good about the revisions to hairline. We were going for an age appropriate (almost 35) hairline but one that was very consistent with current look. Density and clean lines was most important. I just took a few pictures (attached) with my phone but will get the office to send more soon. Better quality I'm sure.

 

We went in planning 1800-2000 grafts max after Dr. Ron's initial consult w/ me in person. With the additional supply made available due to my hair density, we were able to go a little higher, 2450. He added some thickness to front-middle, and middle to stabilize.

 

Will report regularly from here. Thanks to everyone that helped guide me through this process. Couldn't have done it without you!

Edited October 1, 2015 by esrec

[sl]

Looks good esrec and should make a nice difference for you and looks like Dr.Ron placed well back into native hair also as well as giving you a new hair line.

 

Don't analyse too much now as you are swollen and it does lift everything but should really come in well for you.

 

Great write up and will for sure help others who have to go through decisions.

 

All the best and relax as much as you can now it's over and enjoy some downtime from work if you can.

[esrec]

Looks good esrec and should make a nice difference for you and looks like Dr.Ron placed well back into native hair also as well as giving you a new hair line.

 

Don't analyse too much now as you are swollen and it does lift everything but should really come in well for you.

 

Great write up and will for sure help others who have to go through decisions.

 

All the best and relax as much as you can now it's over and enjoy some downtime from work if you can.

 

Thanks so much. If the pain after 24 hours is the worst than I'm feeling pretty good about things. I'm staying in Minnesota a full week so will be getting daily check-ups.

[Petchski]

Looks good, Dr Ron does hairlines exceptionally well. Nice appropiate hairline as well, leaving plenty of grafts in the bank should you ever need another one.

 

I think your main problem back at work won't be hiding the transplant as such, more the redness you will get in the recipient, sometimes takes a couple of months to fade, but it's easilly explained away as sunburn, or psorisis flare up etc.

 

I found that after three days i didn't need the pain meds, could have quit after two really but they were helpful for getting to sleep, as i slept on my back, which normally i don't.

[Td06]

Happy growing!

[esrec]

Looks good, Dr Ron does hairlines exceptionally well. Nice appropiate hairline as well, leaving plenty of grafts in the bank should you ever need another one.

 

I think your main problem back at work won't be hiding the transplant as such, more the redness you will get in the recipient, sometimes takes a couple of months to fade, but it's easilly explained away as sunburn, or psorisis flare up etc.

 

I found that after three days i didn't need the pain meds, could have quit after two really but they were helpful for getting to sleep, as i slept on my back, which normally i don't.

 

 

Yeah the pain meds have helped but definitely dont want to rely on them. Zero pain in recipient, minor in donor. Sure soreness will build over next few days though.

[Pete-from-Farjo]

Congrats on your ht. Nice write up and it certainly seems like a sensible approach. Dr. Ron does some of the most natural hairlines around so I reckon you'll be smiling a few months down the line!

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Congrats, esrec! Nice write up too.

 

Can't wait to see this grow and mature!

[esrec]

Congrats, esrec! Nice write up too.

 

Can't wait to see this grow and mature!

 

Thank you Blake. Your words mean alot.

 

Will get some better pics from office, as those are a bit average. The placement of hairline is right where I wanted. He was great about showing me a mirror every 30 minutes or so to check I approved lol.

 

I can't speak to long term FUT scarring, but the pain so far as been minimal at best. Pleasantly surprised... so far.

[fortune11]

Congratulations esrec

 

The clean and strategic placement of grafts reminds me of my first transplant w Dr Shapiro more than a decade ago. You are on your way to a beautiful , (more than) natural hairline .

 

The hardest part now is waiting to get there !

 

BTW did Dr Ron use sutures or staples on the donor ?

[mav23100gunther]

Congrats on the procedure!!!! Can't wait to watch your progress

[esrec]

Congratulations esrec

 

The clean and strategic placement of grafts reminds me of my first transplant w Dr Shapiro more than a decade ago. You are on your way to a beautiful , (more than) natural hairline .

 

The hardest part now is waiting to get there !

 

BTW did Dr Ron use sutures or staples on the donor ?

 

Thank you Fortune. Hoping to get more professional photos from them soon.

 

Dr. Ron really was so meticulous and communicative the entire way. Despite hours of talks and drawings on my head beforehand he would make sure to consult me throughout the procedure, making sure I was pleased.

 

It's funny, I wasn't even anxious about the new hairline until it existed. Now that I can see the outline, I can appreciate how tough the waiting period must be.

 

He used staples. Didnt have the chance yet to ask why but can tomorrow. Still in town.

[Janna]

Hi Esrec,

 

Thanks for posting about your experience with Shapiro Medical Group.

I'm posting one close up pic that we took to show the healing progress you've made in just 4 days. It's very clean with barely any redness. I believe the Liposomal ATP has a big part in the healing process. The main objective for using the ATP spray if the graft survival, however, you can see that it helps a lot in helping to diminish the redness sooner too.

 

I think that with the number of grafts used for Esrec, the final result should yield exactly what we expect, a beautiful outcome!

Edited October 8, 2015 by Janna

[esrec]

Thanks for everything Janna. SMG has been nothing short of amazing so far and I'm not just saying that because I send emails every 5 minutes

 

I was about to follow up with 7 day post op pics as well. Everything looks basically the same.

 

Day 1 (first picture) and Day 7 (last picture) similar but you can notice some differences. The FU 1's are showing more and maybe some light shed although not sure if that's possible yet. I do notice some difference in hairline today.

 

And if you look REAL close, you'll see I have one stray hair that has been resistant to hair loss. I have to yank it once a month. haha.

 

 

Donor area: Non issue: annoying to sleep on staples but otherwise a little tenderness and full mobility.

Recipient area No redneness or irritation, some numbness. Find myself studying the hairline, but then again, I havent seen one in 8 yrs.

Visual of placements: I found this to be pretty insightful. Dr Ron provided this image and then explained how he applied the 1's/2'/3's according to our many discussions. Help to get on same page and understand the art and science of the process.

 

Stats

 

Hair Density: 125 (was told this will help in the future)

1 FU's: 584

2 FU's: 1334

3 FU's: 532

 

Total Grafts: 2450

Edited October 7, 2015 by esrec

[Petchski]

What's Liposomal ATP?

 

Looking good Esrec, scar looks like it will be thin too, i had the staples from Dr Feller, Hasson and Wong use them too, down to Dr preference.

 

When you take them out make sure you soak in the bath first and rub along the staples, this gets rid of any scabs, which will be ready to fall off by then anyhow, makes taking them out so much easier.

[fortune11]

That ATP solution is really a miracle fluid. I had a chance to use it the first time this time around (in Jan 2015) and my graft sites had zero itching and looked extremely clean , no redness at all . I would think this should be standard post op protocol by now for all HT surgeries.

[esrec]

I was bargaining for an extra bottle on the way out but was told the impact wouldn't be there after a week. Must say I'm a little curious if it could help during the next phase though of shed and regrowth. Even thought about just spraying it on my face and entire body to see what happens. haha.

[SADbutTRUE]

welcome to the forums and congrats on your recent surgery at SMG. everything looking normal at this point. in a few months those new hairs will be growing and the fun begins, what makes ATP spray so effective in cleaning surface area and its ability to aid growth.i know some clincs use spray post op, janna when you have time .can you explain how ATP spray works.

[Stig]

I was bargaining for an extra bottle on the way out but was told the impact wouldn't be there after a week. Must say I'm a little curious if it could help during the next phase though of shed and regrowth. Even thought about just spraying it on my face and entire body to see what happens. haha.

 

Spray it on your privates and let us know what happens

[Janna]

welcome to the forums and congrats on your recent surgery at SMG. everything looking normal at this point. in a few months those new hairs will be growing and the fun begins, what makes ATP spray so effective in cleaning surface area and its ability to aid growth.i know some clincs use spray post op, janna when you have time .can you explain how ATP spray works.

 

Good question. ATP exists in our bodies and the name of the company who makes the Liposomol ATP solution is called Energy Delivery Solutions. The name says a lot about the solution's purpose. However, I thought Dr. Paul would be able to explain better on how Liposomal ATP works. We at Shapiro Medical use the solution in our graft holding solution and in our post op spray.

 

 

ATP is the source of energy for all cells. Our cells take the simple sugars and lipids (fat) we eat and oxygen to make ATP.

After a hair transplant the cells cannot make as much ATP. Until new blood vessels attach to the bulb which takes about 3 days, the only way the cells can get oxygen and nutrients is by diffusion from the fluids surrounding the cell. The Liposomal ATP provides the cells with the ATP they need for healing. After blood vessels have reattached to the hair follicle it then can produce more ATP then we could ever give them with the spray.

That is why we have our patients spray the Liposomal ATP every half hour for the first 48 hours and then continue spraying after that but not as aggressively. By the 3rd day blood vessels have attached to the cells and they can make their own ATP.

[esrec]

14 day post op with crusty pic (attached) of donor area. Recipient looks +/- the same right now. Maybe some light shed. Pics from yesterday when staples were actually removed. I took pictures myself immediately after.

 

Pretty sweet relief to have the staples out (sleep will be much easier) but must say the overall pain and recovery was a total non issue.

 

Special thanks to Dr. Wesley and his staff who welcomed me in there NY office to assist in removing my staples. Great doc and friendly team. Thank you for that.

Edited October 14, 2015 by esrec

[esrec]

More. wasn't able to share (FYI mods) multiple pics.

Edited October 14, 2015 by esrec

[esrec]

3-week post op. No signficant changes to recipient. Still full and pretty clean, minimal shedding to date. Donor feels fine, better than anticipated.

 

Stay tuned.

[Petchski]

All looks good, how was the staple removal? hurts when a hair gets caught.

 

Surpised you still have so many grafts, looks quite long as well.

[esrec]

Thanks man.

 

Im trying to avoid speculation about anything. Save my sanity.

 

I had no scabbing or redness at all (maybe ATP assisted) to recipient area so basically just been looking at the same since post op. As you called out, hair is getting long which is obviously just a tease. But its clean so trying not to fuss with it.....

 

Did you mention bathing/showering before removal? Whoever did, that was clutch. Hurt a little but relief once done was fantastic.