2746 FUE with Dr. David Josephitis of Shapiro Medical Group

[davidjosepha]

I had FUE with SMG 2 weeks ago after a year of waiting and I'm making this thread to track progress. Hopeful everything turns out looking good but it's a bit nerve wracking waiting a year before seeing how it turns out.

 

[davidjosepha]

God, I'm a moron. I copy/pasted the image from Google Photos into the text editor, which embeds by URL instead of attaching the files themselves, so no one other than me could see them. Let's try that again. If a mod sees this, could you edit my first post to put these in?

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I had FUE with SMG 2 weeks ago after a year of waiting and I'm making this thread to track progress. Hopeful everything turns out looking good but it's a bit nerve wracking waiting a year before seeing how it turns out.

Background

I'd met with SMG last summer and got on meds. I'd have liked to have not waited so long for a surgery, but A) they are fully booked 10+ months out at any given time, and B) they wanted me on meds for at least a year to see how they worked and to minimize shock hair loss that doesn't grow back at all. I was initially a bit hesitant on finasteride because of all the 3-letter acronym talk but after a lot of reading I overcame that fear and stuck to it -- happy to talk about that if anyone has questions but otherwise don't want to derail the thread. They also prescribed oral minoxidil, which I'm not convinced is a smart idea long-term but I figured I'd get the best results taking it orally, could see how that worked for a year or two, then post-surgery switch to topical. I'm planning to do that after the hairs at the new hairline start to come in to make it a bit easier to stay stuck to my scalp (I'm worried that I'll just sweat off the minoxidil at the currently-bare patches -- not sure if that's actually accurate or not though).

I had been buzzing my head to 1/2 on the sides, 1-1/2 on top for ~4 years prior to setting up the appointment with SMG and I'd basically resigned myself to not having hair. I actually felt good about it at first. I was no longer constantly thinking about how my hair doesn't look the way I want, it was easy to maintain, and I like the feeling when showering and sleeping of not having a big rag on my head. I did think about surgery on and off, but I was a pretty bad alcoholic and hadn't even been to a dentist in 6 years because I kept putting off finding one and making an appointment, so I definitely wasn't in a position to do the research necessary to find a decent hair transplant surgeon. Got sober a year and a half ago and finally got around to making all the appointments I had been putting off, including around a hair transplant.

The day before surgery (6/18/23)

After first day (6/19/23)

Large surgeries they split over two days, first day they make incisions in the afternoon, second day they harvest grafts in the morning and place them in the afternoon.

I'm very happy with the hairline Dr. Joe came up with. It was essentially exactly what I was hoping for -- maintained the (imo) masculine recession around the temples while filling in a bit at the corners and extending the hairline down a bit. I've spent a lot of time looking at my hair and scalp over the past year (well, past ten years, really, but especially the last year) and had made an attempt to figure out where my "natural" hairline is (ie where it would be if not for MPB) through looking at the miniaturized hairs around the edges, shape of my skull, shape of the hairs I still had, and so on, and what he drew was almost exactly what I'd come up with myself. Going into the appointment, I wasn't positive whether it was achievable given the finite nature of donor hairs and I know SMG is known for being conservative with their hairlines, especially with younger guys (I'm 29), to preserve donor supply for future touch ups. So I was very pleased that, even without any input from me (I asked him to draw what he suggested first as I didn't want to bias him with my own ideas), this was what he proposed.

After second day (6/20/23)

The day after (6/21/23)

One week (6/27/23)

And yes, I did wear the same shirt for a week straight. I was supposed to wear a button up for the first week or so to avoid accidentally dislodging out the grafts, and I didn't want to risk getting blood on any of my non-red shirts (which is all of them, except this one).

Two weeks (7/5/23)

I'm extremely happy with how things look so far, but it'll be quite a while before I know how much of the transplanted grafts survive and how thick everything looks in the end. I have quite fine hair, so I'm a bit concerned it'll grow in looking thin, but there's nothing to do now but wait. The transplanted hairs have grown a good amount of length since transplant, they just recently got long enough to stop being prickly and feel softer, so I hope that's a sign that they survived but I don't know if it actually is. Some of the hairs have started shedding, I noticed a few falling out when I washed my hair today. That's a bit earlier than I would have guessed from some things I've read online, but others say that's a normal time to start shedding. Going to try not to get too worried about anything as we go. Worst case, I can go back for a second surgery, although I'm hoping this one will provide enough density to be happy with for the foreseeable future.

Let me know your thoughts. I'll set reminders to update the thread with new pictures at regular intervals. Next update will probably be at the 3 month mark.

[A_4_Archan]

Work is looking clean....you will surely get a good outcome....Happy growing and keep updating ..

Edited July 6, 2023 by A_4_Archan

[HairEnthusiast101]

Looks awesome. The most ethical clinic in the world. I love seeing results from them. I think you will be pleased with the natural long lasting results. Keep us updated!

[Spring15]

Good luck

[follically challenged]

This looks great man. Really clean. My hair is similar to yours, so im really interested to see how this goes. Rooting for ya!

PS Congrats on getting sober! 🫡

[davidjosepha]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I'm going to write up a bit more about the process in the next couple days in case it helps anyone considering Dr. Josephitis / SMG. Nothing but positive things to say about the experience (pending the results).

2 hours ago, follically challenged said:

PS Congrats on getting sober! 🫡

Thank you, it's a good feeling being back on this plane of existence 👽

[Balding Bad]

As a fellow SMG patient currently going through the post-op growing process, I wish you best of luck with your results!

[baldfighter]

I can see how happy you are with your surgeon, you even name your account after him 😂

[davidjosepha]

8 hours ago, baldfighter said:

I can see how happy you are with your surgeon, you even name your account after him 😂

Oh wow, I hadn't noticed that until just now. It's actually from my own name, used this username for years. I'd realized he and I share a 'David' but didn't make the connection that we share a 'Joseph' as well. Knew there was something about his name that sounded trustworthy 😅 Probably should have used a more anonymous username here but I figured if I'm posting pictures of my face, anonymity is predicated on no one recognizing me from the real world, which is probable but not a given.

[ALittelTeal]

Would love an update to see how things are coming along!

[davidjosepha]

10 hours ago, ALittelTeal said:

Would love an update to see how things are coming along!

Gladly. Was going to post an update next week since that'd be 3 months, but I've got a busy week coming up so this is actually better, and I already took pics a few days ago for my own log. I also have pics from ~1 month after surgery that weren't worth posting on their own, but are good to show what things looked like after everything healed and most/all the transplanted follicles fell out, since I had significantly longer hair in my 'before' pics that make direct comparison difficult. I'll aim to keep a consistent 2 guard for pics going forward, but winter gets goddamn cold here, so it's up in the air whether I'll follow through on that for the full year. (Did I spend $15k on a hair transplant because I keep losing my $15 winter hats? I won't say one way or the other.)

Both sets of pictures were taken approx. 4-5pm near an east-side window of my house (same place and more-or-less same time as my one and two week updates), but obviously sun path/angle changed in the two months between the two sets of pictures here and I have no memory of whether those days were cloudy or sunny. Based on the background and the hair on the sides of my head, though, it seems like lighting was reasonably comparable.

Not sure there's any visible growth yet, although I have noticed over the past couple weeks the occasional light tingling in my scalp (like a sharp pain, but so minor it's a stretch to call it 'pain' at all) that I wonder whether might be a couple new hairs starting to break out of the pores.

I'll aim for monthly updates going forward, but even if I forget to post some month, I'll still have pictures to post with the following month's update.

One month (7/17/23)

Can't remember whether this was 2 or 1.5 guard.

 

~Three months (9/14/23)

Pardon the beard mess. Haven't bothered trimming it in... well, probably not since the surgery, to any significant degree, and I didn't realize I hadn't combed it before the pictures until after I'd taken them.

Freshly cut to 2 guard all around.

(forgot to take a shot with my head angled down midway between the above and below photos)

 

[ALittelTeal]

Wow. Have to love how the hairline is taking shape. How long did it take for your redness to subside?

[davidjosepha]

12 minutes ago, ALittelTeal said:

Wow. Have to love how the hairline is taking shape. How long did it take for your redness to subside?

Thank you -- redness was mostly gone in a month (7/17 pics above), but the next photo I can find that clearly shows the scalp in decent lighting was about a month and a half (8/8) and I don't see any redness whatsoever. I think even at the one month mark, the redness was primarily there because I was scrubbing so vigorously in the shower to try to get the last of the hairs to fall out.

[ALittelTeal]

This looks like the kind of HT that could be conducive to rocking a buzzcut as well, with the hairline still framed.

[davidjosepha]

I'm hoping so, since I've really started to like having my hair buzzed, especially in the summer. It'll just be nicer if it looks like a conscious choice rather than that I'm bald. Keeping expectations tempered, though. We'll see how it goes.

[baldfighter]

looking good for less than 3 months. Nice hairline design

[stephcurry30]

Looking good how's the 3 month mark?

[davidjosepha]

On 9/19/2023 at 4:33 PM, stephcurry30 said:

Looking good how's the 3 month mark?

The second set of pictures here (in the white henley) is the 3 month mark, or a week shy of it. I'll post an update in a couple weeks for 4 months.

[ALittelTeal]

Would love an update!

[Silent123]

Hey man, this is beginning to come on really nice !

[HairFunk]

Great photo documentation. This should be a really good result. Keep us posted on the regrowth 

[davidjosepha]

Thank you for the kind words, Silent and HairFunk.

On 10/21/2023 at 1:11 PM, ALittelTeal said:

Would love an update!

You got it.

Four months (10/22/23)

Some progress. The growth is more visible in the side shots than the front ones, I think, and more visible in a mirror than it is in the photos, but there's a decent amount of immature hairs filling in the gaps in my hairline and it looks like a few mature ones as well, although I could be imagining it. I see myself almost every day, so even referencing the older photos it's difficult to know what's in my head and what's on my head. In any case, I feel like my hair looks better than it used to at this length, and it's a nice feeling. (Nonetheless, feel free to disillusion me.)

Freshly cut to a 2 guard all around, as was the previous month's update.

I'm not going to include these every time, but this time I took shots of the donor area. It does look a bit patchy, but I'm not convinced that's necessarily a result of the procedure—I can find pictures of myself from prior to the procedure with similar patchiness after a trim. It may just be because my clippers aren't very sharp and it's difficult to trim the back of my head.

I don't see any scarring, but at around the year mark, I'll trim down to a 1 or 1/2 guard on the sides just to see what it looks like. I believe I was told prior to the procedure that I shouldn't expect to be able to trim shorter than a 2 without the scarring being noticeable.

[jwolfe890]

looks very solid. outstanding donor at a 2. nothing noticeable. wishing you the best.

[Steeeve]

Your donor looks completely untouched. I would say it’s hard for us to notice any patchiness and we look at hair pretty much everyday.

Can’t wait to see this come to the end. Congrats. This looks great for how far along you are.

Also…I am so envious of that glorious beard.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Steeeve