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Who should I go with?


Superhawk

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Hey guys I know this is ultimately my decission but I've done so much research that I'm confused. I;m 31 and am a NW2 moving to NW3. I would like a FUE procedure done and need you help and advice on the top FUE docs who produce the best and most consistent results. I need appx. 1200-1700 FUE's. This is based on online consults with Dr. Jone Cole, Dr. Feller, Dr. Ron Shapiro, & Dr. Epstein. Alviarmani thought I needed 2500-3500. I was originally going to go with Dr. Armani or Dr. Cole, however this site doesn't recomend either one, so I'm not sure who to go with. I think these two show some of the best results, however since they are not recommended is there any other surgeons who you belive would match there skill and artistry? Thanks for your time and input in advance, Jack.

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2500 to 3500, of course.....If Master Armani was paying me for the surgery I wouldn't go to him. A strong case could be made that he's the worst surgeon on the planet, outside of docs still performing ancient plug work. Dr. Cole is a shady cat, too, but compared to Armani he's a golden boy. Armani will absolutely bludgeon you; and, if you aren't too emotionally crippled by your "result", and try to get compensation, you might get a nice, threatening lawsuit, too.

 

Out of the docs you've mentioned it's really R. Shapiro or Feller, and it's honestly not even close. Shapiro is considered "The Godfather of the Hairline" and Dr. Feller is at the absolute vanguard of performing FUE.

 

Research their strip work for hairlines and see whose you like more. If you contact them I'm sure they'd hook you up with examples that mimic your case, too.

-----------

*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

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thanatopsis, thanks for your response and input on this issue. I agree with you about R. Shapiro, his hairlines are great. However I'm a little hesitant to get a strip procedure done so I guess that leaves me with Dr. feller. I've seen your pictures and your results are awesome. Congrats!!! Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you had a strip procedure done with Dr. Feller. I hope I can get an equally good result with FUE from him. I've been talking with Spex via e-mail and he seems to answere all my questions quickly and compitently. I really appreciate that. Anyways, Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it.

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No probs; and thx (and I did get strip/FUT for my procedure). I understand the desire to get FUE, though, and I will likely go in for FUE at some point myself. I believe that Dr. Feller could deliver you an equally fine result by way of FUE -- when he does FUE, he does it right, and he gets good yield. You'll be in the best of hands, and won't get sold a bill of goods.

 

Btw, did SMG advise you to do strip with them, vs. FUE, because of the extent of your loss and the grafts it would take? They recently started performing FUE on a consistent basis.

-----------

*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

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Thanatopsis, SMG offered to do srip, however after I inquired about FUE, they said I would probably be a good candidate for it and one of the Docs recomended was Dr. Cole. I consulted with them appx 1 year ago and the consultant told me that they where not the best people to go with as far as FUE is concerned giving the reason for being that they didn't have alot of experiance with it. Wow, thats being honest. By the way, was the strip procedure an easy recovery or whas it quite some time before you got back to your every day life? Thanks for all your input.

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Hmmm, interesting.

 

My recovery wasn't too bad....I was working out/training again after 2weeks; once the staples came out and I buzzed my head I was able to go out without much problem. Typically, I just wore a nice hat, but after the 3rd week, in tandem with some concealer on the scar, I was going out w/o a hat and feeling fine.

 

All in all, I really don't think the recovery for strip is that bad, even compared to FUE. Especially, if you aren't shaving your recipient zone....with your modest level of loss you might be able to get away with not having to shave.

-----------

*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

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Thnx for that reply. It's good to know that FUSS is not as bad as I've heard. When I talked with armani reps they recommended not working out for something like 6 months post op, thats seems crazy & I never understood it.

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Hi Hawk, if you consulted with us a year ago, we would not have been able to accommodate you as we were in the infancy stages of FUE.

 

However, we are progressing nicely, and if you like you can re-submit your photos for us to take a look---- 1200-1700 grafts is right in our comfort zone these days. The work would be done over 2-3 days.

 

Of course, choosing Dr. Feller is an excellent choice as well. I have no doubts you will have an excellent result should you choose to go with him.

 

While I know a strip session is certainly an option, one of the benefits of properly done FUE is options for the future.....in this instance, doing a smallish fue session (under 2000 grafts) would allow those future choices.

 

Take Care,

JAson

Go Cubs!

 

6721 transplanted grafts

13,906 hairs

Performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro

 

Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Paul Shapiro are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

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B spot, thnx for that information, I will certainly consider it. Also, I don't remember who I spoke with, but after he gave me that answere, it made me realize what kind of quality peolpe are employed by SMG. Kudos to you and your team, it's good to know there are people like you out there amongst all the BS that sometimes comes with this business. I'm really glad to hear that FUE is being done at your clinic on a regular basis now.

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Superhawk,

 

I just had a session of about 2600 grafts with Epstein 10 days ago. The scar has already healed up quite nicely and noone has noticed it except for one area where the hair were missing a bit too much. Other than the first night where things were a bit uncomfortable and being very careful for the forst 5 days, things have been great. I started working out 7 days after my procedure (they recommend 5) and you can even swim after 10. I am in the waiting game right now but the session and the recovery for Strip was not bad at all.

 

Hope it helps!

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You can go swimming 10 days out from a strip op? icon_confused.gif

-----------

*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

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I can give you my thought to ease your mind about strip. Most people shy away from the strip method because they are afraid of a "bad" scar. The reason there are alot of bad scars out there is because, either the donor strip was taken to low on the nape of the neck, allowing any movement of the head to cause stretching, or a doctor who has taken too wide a section, so that when he goes to suture the area, it's closed under too much tension which results in the scar stretching. Dr. Rose has perfected the "ledge closure" We've been doing this closure for more than 5 years now, and are very pleased with our results. When suturing the donor area, instead of the two ends just being pulled together and the edges butting up together, Dr. Rose will trim the lower edge, so when he closes, the two edges interlock, like a "tongue and groove". By the edges interlocking, when the hair re-grows, they will grow through that area, hiding the appearance of a scar. Honestly, there is very little evidence, if any at all, of a scar. Dr. Rose cares just as much as giving a good cosmetic result in the back as he is about up front.

My advise is definetely researching and going for a few consultations to meet with the different doctors. The only difference between FUE and strip is the harvesting. The ability to create a natural looking hairline and the placement of the grafts is just as important, if not more, than the harvesting. If you go with a doctor that doesn't have that artistic ability, and or the placement of your grafts is done incorrectly, it won't really matter how the grafts were harvested.

 

I work with Dr. Paul Rose here in Tampa, Florida at Academic Alliance in Dermatologh. I work on salary, not commission, as a hair transplant technician. The comments on the above topic are that of my own, and should not be taken as medical advise.

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Dr. Rose & Co., how would you compare the scarring of your typical strip procedure to that of FUE? (in terms of visibility and the ability to shave down) It definitely seems that with the perfection of "ledge closure" the strip scars can come out extremely well -- but is this "extremely well" for a typical strip scar, or in stacking up to the "non-visible" scarring associated with FUE?

-----------

*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

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Mohsin Raja, thanks for sharing your HT experiance. It is certainly good news to here how quickly one can resume normal life after a strip procedure. It's so weired though the difference in a clinics recomendation as far as how much time is required before you can become active again post strip surgery. When I had an over the phone conversation with Shane at alviarmani, he reccomended waiting 6 months before resuming rigerous workouts. I couldn't believe it when he told me that. 6 months to 7 days it quite a difference. Well Mohsin I wish you a speedy recovery and excellent results. Keep us updated & I hope you start a blog.

 

Follicle girl, thank you as well for your input. It's good to here that the scar is becoming less of an issue than it has been in the past. I've read here that a good doctor with the right skill & closure technique can make a scar pencil thin but this sounds like a step above that even. I's there anyway you can send some pics from a pt shaved down to a 2-3 guard so we can see how well this technique works? Thanks again, Superhawk.

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hey dude hows it going have you made any decisions yet as to who you are going with icon_smile.gif or are you taking time to research a little more which is a wise move

2 poor very poor UK ht's

2 world class repairs with Shapiro Medical Group

original thread

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.co...d.php?t=134995

Dr Paul's procedure http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1710

Dr Ron's procedure

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1128

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Regular Member

Bullitnut, I have'nt decided yet but I have a consult scheduled for sept. 29 with Dr. Feller, we shall see what he has to say. I will be setting up a consult with Dr. Shapiro as well in the very near future. I'm still very nervous and think I need to see some results in person.

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  • 6 months later...
  • Regular Member

Bullitnut, I have decided to go with Dr. Shapiro. I'm scheduled for an FUE procedure tomorrow(4/12/10). Im very nervous but I think ultimately it will be worth it. I will post pics ass soon as I can. Wish me luck.

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Originally posted by Superhawk:

That was Dr. Ron Shapiro.

 

Hello SUPERHAWK! I hope the fue procedure goes well for you today. I am in a very similar situation as you. I need the frontal hairline reconstructed with about 1200 grafts but I am very nervous about the operation. Can you tell me about your experience with Dr. Shapiro? I will be praying for you today bro. I hope this turns out really well for you!

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Jackedup, Thank you for your response & prayers. I just got back to my hotel room after appx. 11 hours at the clinic. I was also very nervous before hand and had several thoughts of canceling, I am so glad I didn't. The experiance was amazing, u have nothing to worry about. Easier said than done but I was really really nervous and after having the first of two days completed, I am very, very pleased. The experiance was awesome and the staff is really top notch and as nice as could be. Dr. Ron Shapiro is very meticulous. I had appx. 740 fue grafts transplnated today and the Dr. thinks maybe 500 more tomorrow.My head looks great and the hairs are perfectly angled. Dr. Shapiro will be working defining the hair line tomorrow, even though it looks great right now. He will be doing his signature saw tooth like hair line refinement tomorrow. I will do a fool write up along with pics within the next few days so please keep a look out for it. Also, if you want to write a private message to me I will give you my email and give you more info. But for now, just know that the worst part of this whole process is the worrying prior to getting to the clinic. They are top notch and I am very glad I went with them instead of Armani, Cole, or Bosley. Let me know if u have any questions and I promise you will not get any B.S. from me.

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Rachman, congratulations on a great choice. IMO I think its the best one you could have made for the very highest quality FUE procedure at the most reasonable price out there. Also, as Thana has mentioned in the past, Dr. Ron Shapiro is the God Father of the hairline. You will not be dissapointed. Read my previous post on a very quick look bck on my first day and also feel free tp Private message me if you need more info. Good luck with your future procedure, even though you wont need much luck, SMG is awesome.

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hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I just got done with my second day and it went very well. My appt. was at 8am and I was done with everything by 3pm. the total # of grafts for both days was 1110 fue. This was less than we thought I would need but the coverage seems great. I will hopefully find out exactly what my transplanted density is tomorrow. Jana informed me that my donor are was appx. 103/cm2 so I have plenty to work with. Yey! Also, I was told by Tom that my donor are has heeled very nicely and quicker than normal. I go for my shampoo tomorrow & possibly any minor adjustments if needed, Dr. Shapiro is very meticulas.

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Thanks nsuede, I am all finished & recovering very comfortably in my hotel room. The whole procedure was a breeze. You have nothing to worry about if you choose SMG. My girlfriend and I just got back from the Great Mall of America, the money we spent there hurt more than anything during the surgery, LOL. I didn't get any more work done today, just a shampooing and pictures. I have been taking pics every night and will be posting them very soon. We are flying home tomorrow morning and I will upload all my photos to my imac & then to this site. Let me know if I can answer any questions for you, and once again thanks for the kind words.

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