Permanent SMP disaster repaired by Shapiro Medical Group Trico/FUE combo

[mmac6804]

My journey is a long emotional one. I can sum up the early stages, because it can be very comparable to others. I was 18 years old, started showing signs of my hair thinning. It seemed as if it was thinning very quickly, as people I saw periodically, made comments and jokes. I recall one night, a student in our school, made a comment to my current girlfriend about dating a guy that was going to be bald, that statement made life miserable. It was shortly after, she broke up with me and my confidence regarding my appearance at 18/19 years old plummeted. Then welcome my security blanket, a baseball cap, with my cap I was my old-self, but couldn’t go anywhere without it.

 

Then I moved on to college, I had my cap, but towards the end, I was convinced by a family friend barbershop, that I could wear a hair replacement system. I took the pros and cons and thought it might help and still look believable. The only problem, I couldn’t do the things I loved, for fear of it falling off, or become noticeable, with all the jokes about “toupees” and such, that would have been tragic. I knew I couldn’t stay local in the city I lived for fear people would see me and recognize a difference. The fear of the repercussions of being detected, I dropped out of college, and moved back home, and decided to change my degree, and go to a local school. I never finished school, but needed to find work, so I moved to the big city.

 

After trying to date women that I met in the city, the fear of them finding out I was wearing my hair, was too much, so I would end many relationships.

 

I finally met one person, and after both of us sharing major secrets, she didn’t care. I ended up marrying her for several years. The part of being accepted went away, but the confidence of somebody finding out that I was wearing hair was crazy low. I feared so much, windy days, rainy days, getting to hot and sweaty. I constantly would try to find the newest hair replacement product on the market. I would find the real believable systems, but they were so much money. I even went out to Philadelphia; this company literally sewed the system, with medical thread to my scalp, it looked good, I could even go swimming, but it was near impossible to clean underneath, and after about a year, it wore itself in spots through my scalp, leaving me with 3 visible scars.

 

Out comes the newest hair replacement system, of completely bonding a system onto your head, with front hairlines that were undetectable. You see them now on TV, you can swim, sweat, style, and nobody will know, some are even named “Hollywood hair”. Now these systems aren’t cheap, so you get into a yearly program, every month was like $350, but you got a new “cut-in” system every month. This went on for several years.

 

Thinking my problems were over, I always felt there was something that just wasn’t believable, or feared someone would find out and make fun of me. I was still paranoid on my look, and took such a long time to get ready to go out. Then I would get it styled just right and used more hair spray than a ‘80s rock band did.

 

After calculating on how much money I had spent over a twenty year period, it was unbelievable, to the sum of nearly 65-72K. It made me angry, sad, discouraged, fearful, as I figured I could have had that money saved for a retirement, or something other than put onto my head, and I knew inside, I was not confident. Out comes a commercial I saw on TV, a local company stating get “hair peace”. It is a shaved head look that now is socially acceptable, the commercial was so convincing. A one- time fee and a look that was undetectable. It was adding permanent pigment to replicate hair follicles. I remember quickly writing the phone number, and website down. When I got home, I researched the website. I made a call and booked a consultation. The day of my consultation, I was treated like I really mattered, I spoke to a guy that was about my age, had a lot of similarities that I had growing up, he wore hair for several years too. So I was told what to do to prepare for my day as I booked my appointment. I had picked out a look I was interested in from a photobook they had.

 

June 22, 2012, my appointment day, I was freaking out, there was no going back, I shaved my head before going over to the Minneapolis area office. I procedure would take a full day. The tech started placing dots on my head, and it was supposed to be pain free, hell no, it hurt, and only after 10 minutes, I was breaking down inside. After about 8 hours they were done, my head hurt, like a sunburn, I looked into a mirror and felt, “what have I just done”, this did not look like the picture, this was not an unbelievable look. I was supposed to go to work in 3 days, I was immediately trying to think of ways to quit my job, how would I replace that income. I now had to go out in public, with a look that in my mind was worse than the hair systems. My first night back at work…..first comment out of someone’s mouth, hahaha, looks like a bad tattoo. Over the course of 2 months, I heard every comment possible, and I became a joker about it, the comments slowly quieted down, but the worst was yet to come.

 

The pigment was supposed to “calm down” the tint, sort of fade, it never did, it actually started to show more of a blue hue. I would have to apply make-up to my head to get that to not show so bad. This would take about 2 hours to apply correctly and look good enough to be in public. I could not find a new job, so I had to continue this process for several months.

 

I had sunk into the worst imaginable place emotionally, this affected everything about me, it affected who I hung out with, I would not go-to anyplace I couldn’t wear a hat except my work. I became so angry, sad, fearful, and scared. I later found out I was a test subject on a new pigment, I contacted several attorneys, but no-one would help me, no-one was familiar enough with SMP. I had one last true effort to do, I would write a letter to Hair Transplants doctors and see if there is anything they could do to help.

 

After several letters sent, only one doctor responded to see me for a consultation. It was Dr. Ron Shapiro. Immediately, when I saw him, I felt, Dr. Ron saw the pain I was in, I know one appointment I did everything in my powers to not breakdown and cry right there. Dr. Ron knew I would need to get the pigment out, so I contacted the SMP company in Edina that destroyed me; I made an appointment to talk to them. I went in to make them feel my pain and correct what they did. For the record, many of the dots, “pooled together” so I was very blotchy looking. Their first thing was,” what do you want us to do, you knew it was a permanent procedure”. After I threatened to sue them and go public, they choose to refund my $4000. They agreed to send me to go have laser tattoo removal done. My procedure for that was the worst pain I have every felt, because of the pigment being do dark and concentrated, it felt like a major shock every second on my head. My first session I lasted 5 minutes, and teared up, it hurt so bad, my second through 10th appointment I needed to have lanacaine applied to help numb the areas. It barely made a difference. Now the SMP company sent me a letter and would only cover 7 appointments, thinking that would be enough, after that, I would have to pay the $100 of laser treatments. Dr. Ron Shapiro advised he could help, but getting the pigment out as much as possible was crucial. After my 13th laser treatment, Dr. Ron did the FUE procedure, and my recovery process began. When I entered Shapiro Medical Group, I was treated with so much respect, and professionalism.

 

I met with their consultation expert, Matt; he explained and educated a lot on what FUEs will do. I also met with SMP expert Nicole Large; she was going to assist in my recovery process, by adding SMP along with the FUEs to enhance a look that would have texture and density.

 

Dr. Ron was so focused and determined to have this corrected and obtain a natural overall look. 1 year after my first FUE, he introduced Dr. Joe into the correctional phase and Dr. Joe would be doing my second FUE procedure. Nicole was amazing and incredibly supportive, she educated me all the time and kept me up to speed on what to expect. Every few months, I would return to Shapiro Medical Group so Dr. Ron could asses the 2 FUE procedures. Nicole added SMP in between my procedures to be subtle and carefully done.

 

I am going to have one more FUE pass in February 2016 to tie it all together and blend the FUE and SMP procedures. I have been through a period of my life that I feel was the worst imaginable. Shapiro Medical Group, Dr. Ron, Nicole, and Dr. Joe, are so amazing and professional to correct the nightmare I was living every day, so that I can focus on a much more positive future. I am a firm believer that the combination of SMP and FUE is the best natural look of a buzzed look. I am so looking forward to 2016, as I should be done, and thanks to Dr. Ron, Nicole, and Dr. Joe.

Edited February 23, 2016 by David - Moderator

[NicH0le007]

[Janna]

You`ve come a long way I`m glad you`re getting your life back on track.

[TakingThePlunge]

Wow! You've been through quite a lot. Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm certain that this thread will help many others to avoid the pitfalls you've suffered.

 

I'm happy to hear that you found SMG and they have been able to turn things around for you. I wish you the very best of luck!

[netsky]

Looks excellent. I like the way the hairline looks soft and natural

[esrec]

That's some story. Thank you for sharing. Very natural look and you have the head shape / symmetry to support it.

[lakes9925]

I talked to someone there too once last year, (also may of been Matt) I must say he put me up on alot of good information about surguries and gave me alot of good knowledge that I needed, I believe they have a real good team over there.

Edited March 10, 2016 by det9925

[mmac6804]

Thanks, hearing words like that rebuilds confidence in my appearance.

[mmac6804]

Hey det9925,

 

SMG has an incredible team, I always feel they truly put me first, and that Im not just a client, Im a real person. They answer questions truthfully and honestly, and it is everyone there is the so pleasant and friendly.

[netsky]

Thanks, hearing words like that rebuilds confidence in my appearance.

 

You have every reason to be confident mate. You had a problem and you took the right steps to sort it out. Sometimes I wish I was as productive.

[mmac6804]

if you have any questions, feel free to ask away, maybe the right questions and answers will get you productive...

[netsky]

if you have any questions, feel free to ask away, maybe the right questions and answers will get you productive...

 

OK here goes

 

1) what NW were you before you had your original procedure ?

 

2) how often do you need follow up sessions ?

 

3) How many grafts do you have in all and can we see pictures of the back of your head ?

 

4) if some one like me still had hair but was a diffused thinner, would the procedure look even better or more realistic ?

[NicH0le007]

OK here goes

 

1) what NW were you before you had your original procedure ?

 

2) how often do you need follow up sessions ?

 

3) How many grafts do you have in all and can we see pictures of the back of your head ?

 

4) if some one like me still had hair but was a diffused thinner, would the procedure look even better or more realistic ?

 

I would be happy to evaluate your photos if you would like to email me directly. I did post some photos of the back of his head. Are you looking for a different angle? He has 4000 graphs currently and we are hoping for another 2000 at his next fue. It is hard to say at this point how often he will need touch-ups because the FUE will cause some fading. And, although we will start re-touching at 6 months post op he will still be healing. My instinct says we will retouch at 6months and i will re-check at 9months and i'm sure retouch again at 12 months. I anticipate after that he will need touch-ups roughly every 10 months knowing how he likes to keep it looking. But again, that is not in stone. And, due to the nature of his repair we will also move very slow and cautious watching the healing very closely before ever adding more pigment.

[mmac6804]

my NW was about a 6.

 

Follow up sessions for SMP has varied, since Nicole did it gradually to make sure this was done correctly and naturally. The correction phases is a lot to blame for doing it that way.

 

I have had about 4,000 FUEs all from the back and sides of my head, there is a picture above, if you cant view them, let me know.

 

Its hard to say without seeing your hair...but I know from my experience, that having some hair to blend with SMP, gives it a 3D look or better textured look, FUEs can come from beard area too. I think it looks more natural, it depends to on if you want a stubble look, or a shaved look. Thats the good part, it gives you a little more options.

 

hope this helps, if not, do not hesitate to ask more questions.....take care.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

That is quite an improvement. Kudos to Dr. Ron, Dr. Joe and the entire Shapiro Medical Group. I know that's where I would go if I needed any hair restoration.

[matt3480]

Looking good to me......great job. And trust me, getting a little sun will be your friend, too. Shaved head, SMP, balding, shaved head with no balding...all just look better with a little sun and color.

[mmac6804]

I will be sure to get some sun, once our winter calls it quits for the season...

[HairingIsCaring]

Hmmmm, "interesting" story bro, very "interesting" indeed.......

 

 

Pictured below is Dr. Ron Shapiro at Good Look Ink w/ former gli president Darrin Gerr in 2010. The caption reads "Dr Shapiro visits GLI to help his clients get the density they deserve. Pictured Darrin and DR. Shapiro."

[Dr. Ron Shapiro]

Hi mmac6084,

 

I remember our first meeting very well. You were in such a bad place. I could feel your pain.

I will never telling me how your young daughter asked why you had painted your head or the look on your face when you told it.

I am glad I could help. I have done a lot of Pro -Bono work for patients over the years. Many have had terrible problems from accidents or burns…. other have had iatrogenic induced problems from other physicians. The one thing they all have in common is the negative effect it has on their life. There is no better feeling for me than when it works out like it did with you

That is a gift to me. I am glad we could help …..and excited to see how far we can push it (safely) as we continue to work together. You have helped other patients because what we have learned in helping you we can apply to others.

 

 

WITH RESPECT TO THE PHOTO OF ME AT THE GLI CLINIC 7 YEARS AGO, I FEEL I NEED TO MAKE A COMMENT SO IT IS NOT MISUNDERSTOOD OR MISLEADING.

 

As you said that photo was taken almost 7 years ago. I feel the need to explain this photo so it won’t be taken out of context and be misinterpreted. I have been at odds with GLI for many years and have asked them not to use this photo.

 

THE STORY IN BRIEF:

GLI was started by an ex-patient of mine. This patient had worn a hair piece for years, was a type 7-8, and not a candidate for a standard transplant. What I was able to do for him many years ago ( ~1999) was a small FU transplant on his sideburn & hairline so he could wear his hairpiece behind my hairline thus making it look more natural.

 

I had not seen him for years after this procedure, and sometime around 2008 he came into my office very excited to show me his new SMP shaved look and how it had enabled him to get rid of his hairpiece. I was not very impressed by his SMP shaved look. To me it was too harsh and a little blue. But he was very happy with it as it had helped him get rid of his hair piece. Also with him was Darren, his business manager. Darren also had had an SMP procedure but much milder and just to thicken his thinning crown. This actually did not look so bad.

 

They told me that they were opening up an SMP clinic ~1 mile from my office and wanted to know if I would work with them in some way. They said they had improved the technique and were getting better results.

 

My gut told me not to really trust these guys. On the other hand, I was very curious to learn more about SMP, which was relatively new back then. I had heard conflicting stories about SMP’s potential to be useful as an adjunct to hair transplants (i.e. camouflaging scars, increasing the appearance of fullness in patients with limited donor, etc.) I had found it difficult to get information about this technique. Most groups were very unwilling to talk to anyone about their techniques. I thought this might be good opportunity to see with my own eyes what it was capable of. So I told them I would like to see what they were doing before doing anything with them.

 

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY I BECAME FRUSTRATED AND DISILLUSIONED WITH THEM. They really did not want to share anything. They would not let me see their ink, needles, or watch a procedure. They said it was “proprietary”. The actually had the gall to use the excuse that they were “worried’ if they showed me any of their techniques I may use them improperly and hurt patients. It was insulting. Also, I was not impressed further work I saw coming out of their office. It was during this short period of time that they asked to take a photos with me. It was obvious they just wanted to use me and my name and medical license for financial gain. I have not had a good relationship with them since. I sent a letter years ago asking them to stop …obviously they have not.

 

The original owners sold GLI to a different owner a few years ago from what I heard. I have no knowledge about the new company, their work or their practice. If they are using my photo I will have to contact them again to tell them to stop. The point is I never had a relationship with GLI.

 

What I took away from that experience was 3 things.

• It was going to be difficult to research and learn the truth about various SMP techniques due to the nature of most of the current clinics.

• That although I was not impressed with the naturalness of the work I was seeing…. a surprising number of the patients seemed to be happy with even mediocre work. It made me realize that if the work could be improved it may be a useful technique

• There was definitely a population patients with no more donor hair and scarring that were helped by this technique

 

Since then, Nicole and I have spent the last 6 years researching SMP. If I was going to offer it at our clinic I wanted to make sure we offering the best work. We found it was like pulling teeth to get information As I said many clinics are very secretive and protective and will not share information.

However we gradually found people who would share. I visited Rassman. We trained with Milena (Beauty Medical) both in Italy and at our clinic. We share information with other physicians I know and respect who are doing SMP (Ruston from Brazil, Deveroye from Belgium, etc.) And recently a few of the more well-known private clinics that broke away from the bigger chains have been more open and willing to let us share and visit….. to their credit.

The knowledge gained has helped us (and I hope them) evolve the field and our knowledge about the difference between permanent and temporary approaches. Our technique continues to improve and evolve. We think we do some of the best SMP work in the field at this point There is still much to learn in this field and it is my hope that with more sharing the field will continue to improve. There is still much to learn.

 

Any way I digress.

I just wanted to clarify the photo as the way it was presented could be misunderstood.

 

Once again I am happy for you mmac6084 and will continue to try and help you in any way I can

 

 

Ron Shapiro MD

[hairthere]

Wow, you have been through a very rough journey mmac. Sadly I have seen several other guys in a similar situation. Very glad SMG was able to get you through this.

[HairingIsCaring]

Here is the photo, a screenshot from GLI's facebook page with date and caption claiming Shapiro's endorsement of Good Look Ink....the photo was posted Nov. 2010, almost two years before Shapiro Medical's current Micropigmentation Specialist~Nicole Large~ worked as a technician at Good Look Ink. She began working for Good Look Ink during the summer of 2012, the same time period MMac claims to have received treatment from GLI.

Edited November 22, 2016 by HairingIsCaring

[lorenzo]

Hairing is caring;

I am not saying I agree or disagree with you but you seem to have a lot of knowledge about SMP. Why is this? What is your agenda?

From what I have seen if SMP is done right with the right conditions it looks great. But even the best SMP can fade within months or I have seen it change colour with time. This can happen if with the best SMP techs using the best technique and the best ink.

I had SMP and it looks great and 4 years later it is still there. I am not even sure if it has faded. But due to my own personal story I would never do it again and wish I never did.

[HairingIsCaring]

but you seem to have a lot of knowledge about SMP. Why is this?

I have an adequate amount of knowledge regarding SMP, some from life experience and some simply from reading the abundance of information that is easily accessible and readily available online

 

What is your agenda?

I have no agenda....my objective on posting some questions for Dr. Shapiro on this thread I have already stated in my previous post....I will re-post it just below in case you did not see it:

 

Again, not defending GLI or their work or attempting to discredit Shapiro Medical, just looking for clarification on some clear discrepancies

 

 

From what I have seen if SMP is done right with the right conditions it looks great. But even the best SMP can fade within months or I have seen it change colour with time.

Uh-huh....that is correct.....I agree with this....

 

This can happen if with the best SMP techs using the best technique and the best ink.

I do not agree with this 100%....usually if the provider has "the best" of those 3 things the result will be great....of course if the client is a HT patient all bets are off

 

I had SMP and it looks great and 4 years later it is still there. I am not even sure if it has faded. But due to my own personal story I would never do it again and wish I never did.

Wonderful! Glad your results look great.....and I agree, SMP is not the solution for everyone....Opinions on the finished product can be quite subjective

[lorenzo]

I do not agree with this 100%....usually if the provider has "the best" of those 3 things the result will be great....of course if the client is a HT patient all bets are off

I never said the result would not be great. I meant nobody can or should not guarantee that it will not fade quickly or change colors. Everyone skins reacts differently even if it is only a small percentage.

I helped an italian patient that told me he had SMP 3 months earlier. I saw it and he said it completely disappears within 4-6 weeks. His friend who had it done right after him it still looks great after 3 months. Why is this? Is it because they did it differently or his skin absorbed it quicker. Both had SMP from same tech, same instrument, same ink, two hours apart on both days.

 

Wonderful! Glad your results look great.....and I agree, SMP is not the solution for everyone....Opinions on the finished product can be quite subjective

Thanks. I recently had chemo and radiation and my hair fell out. All that remained was the SMP dots, because this was my second case of cancer last time I lost my hair I SMP over my head. 3 years later it was still all there. Every time I met a new nurse or doctor they said the same thing. You are lucky your hair didn't all fall out or you have a thick head of hair. When I told them it was tattooing none of them could believe it.

[HairingIsCaring]

Dr. Shapiro, to the best of my knowledge you have a wonderful reputation in the hair restoration industry and your tricopigmentation results I have viewed online look fantastic. You are clearly a very respected member and provider in the industry.

 

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY I BECAME FRUSTRATED AND DISILLUSIONED WITH THEM. They really did not want to share anything. They would not let me see their ink, needles, or watch a procedure. They said it was “proprietary”. The actually had the gall to use the excuse that they were “worried’ if they showed me any of their techniques I may use them improperly and hurt patients. It was insulting.

That sounds like a very bad outcome to what started out as a hopeful situation and relationship. I appreciate the fact that you have your account of how certain events transpired, but in my experience there are always two sides to every story, and the truth usually resides somewhere between the two sides.

 

Also, I was not impressed further work I saw coming out of their office......That although I was not impressed with the naturalness of the work I was seeing…. a surprising number of the patients seemed to be happy with even mediocre work. It made me realize that if the work could be improved it may be a useful technique

I understand that you found GLI's results to be inadequate, and GLI may do terrible work, IDK and im not defending them whatsoever, but my question is this...If you thought GLI was producing such poor results, Why then did you hire one of their technicians~ Nicole Large~ as your Micropigmentation/Tricopigmentation Specialist at Shapiro Medical?? This seems odd to me....If you wanted to improve what you found to be inferior Micropigmentation work, why would you go and take the inferior clinic's technician and have them work for you to build your own "micropigmentation/tricopimgentation department"? I understand you utilize a Beauty Medical trained method...but still.....seems strange.

 

Since then, Nicole and I have spent the last 6 years researching SMP. If I was going to offer it at our clinic I wanted to make sure we offering the best work.

Once again, how is it possible that you have been working together with Nicole since 2010, yet Nicole was employed by Good Look Ink (the same clinic you are basically bashing) as early as August 2012 up until late 2013/early 2014?? This timeline does not add up. Can you explain this?

 

June 22, 2012, my appointment day, I was freaking out, there was no going back, I shaved my head before going over to the Minneapolis area office. I procedure would take a full day. The tech started placing dots on my head, and it was supposed to be pain free, hell no, it hurt, and only after 10 minutes, I was breaking down inside. After about 8 hours they were done, my head hurt, like a sunburn, I looked into a mirror and felt, “what have I just done”, this did not look like the picture, this was not an unbelievable look. I was supposed to go to work in 3 days, I was immediately trying to think of ways to quit my job, how would I replace that income. I now had to go out in public, with a look that in my mind was worse than the hair systems. My first night back at work…..first comment out of someone’s mouth, hahaha, looks like a bad tattoo. Over the course of 2 months, I heard every comment possible, and I became a joker about it, the comments slowly quieted down, but the worst was yet to come.

 

MMac, who was your technician when you went to Good Look Ink in 2012? Was Nicole Large working at Good Look Ink the day you had your treatment there at GLI? When you made the decision to go to Shapiro Medical for corrective work were you aware that the person who would being doing your treatment~Shapiro's "Micropigmentation Specialist" (Nicole)~ was formally a technician at Good Look Ink?

If this was in fact your experience at Good Look Ink and the photos you posted are in fact results from Good Look Ink, then why would you go to a clinic for repair who employs a technician who worked for the same clinic who originally gave you such poor results? This seems kind of bizarre. I believe most people looking to rectify a horrible situation would have gone to a provider that had absolutely no ties to the clinic that screwed up their head to begin with.

 

 

As you said that photo was taken almost 7 years ago. I feel the need to explain this photo so it won’t be taken out of context and be misinterpreted. I have been at odds with GLI for many years and have asked them not to use this photo.....

My gut told me not to really trust these guys.

It was during this short period of time that they asked to take a photos with me. It was obvious they just wanted to use me and my name and medical license for financial gain. I have not had a good relationship with them since. I sent a letter years ago asking them to stop …obviously they have not.

 

And yet you allowed them to use a photo, claiming you refer your clients to them, for over 6 years? I think many people in your position would have taken legal action against GLI if they were being used as an endorsement for a company they did not really endorse.

I found the photo on GLI's facebook page...it is still up...Here's another screenshot.

 

Again, not defending GLI or their work or attempting to discredit Shapiro Medical, just looking for clarification on some clear discrepancies