7 1/2 month post op photos from 1609 procedure by Dr. Rose @ Shapiro Medical

[Guest]

I apologize for this taking so long, but I have been very busy and my camera has been on the fritz for the past several months. I had my procedure back on February 18, 2004. I am extremelty pleased with the results! I have very adequate coverage for only 1609 grafts in my opinion. I would suggest Shapiro Medical to anyone that is considering a procedure. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

[Guest]

I apologize for this taking so long, but I have been very busy and my camera has been on the fritz for the past several months. I had my procedure back on February 18, 2004. I am extremelty pleased with the results! I have very adequate coverage for only 1609 grafts in my opinion. I would suggest Shapiro Medical to anyone that is considering a procedure. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

[Guest balloonman]

Am I missing something? Where are the photos?

[Guest]

The image should be there now. Sorry, the file was way too big. I must tell everyone that the donor scar is extremely small also. As you can tell, I cut my hair VERY short (#1 attachment in back) and it is invisible to the naked eye since my donor hair is so thick and grows downward. You have to know it is there to identify it, and even then it is difficult. If you would like to see the image of the donor area, let me know, I'll try to get a picture of it posted. I just thought I'd add that in case anyone was interested.

[Brando]

Justin,

Those are some excellent results. You look alot younger now. I'd say you're pretty thrilled, I know I would be!

[Guest]

Here's my donor area 7 1/2 month post op, with my head tilted forward. Like I said, it is extremely undetectable.

[Cleanhead Jones]

Looks great! It's undetectable. Great work.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Very Nice Justin! You have given me hope since I only got 1600 grafts put in! Feel free to look at my photos in this section posted under Bill!

 

I don't think my coverage will be as good as yours though, simply because I covered a larger area. It looks like you didn't have a huge problem on the top of the head like I do. Did you have any of the 1609 grafts put on the top of your head or was it just primarily the hairline etc?

 

Thanks!

 

Bill

[Guest]

My work was done throughout the entire area. They put more density towards the front hairline and then faded it towards the back. There were no grafts placed in the crown area, but they were placed up to that point.

[Guest]

looks excellent Justin - i was wondering about your case recently. I'm sure you hold your head up a bit higher these days

[Guest]

I do have a much higher self esteem, but in the same token you always wish you had more. I am very satisfied with my results, but it tends to look a little receeded once my hair gets longer, so I have to keep it shorter to make it more manageable. My confidence is definitely alot better and I feel better about life since the biggest thing that bothered me is now imporoved. I am a happy camper!

[HairBeThere]

justin, that is a big improvement, and you should wear it with pride!!

 

Good to hear!

[KenEastCoast]

Buddy-your hair looks GREAT!!! When you see your pics next to eachother you went from looking like 30something back to looking like a mid-20's guy. Def one of the best HT's I've seen. Still saving up for mine-27 in Providence RI. Well done-you must be happy.

[KenEastCoast]

how old are you by the way?

[Guest]

I just turned 26 on Sept 24th. I was 25 when I had the procedure with Dr. Rose. All in all, this was the best decision I have ever made as far as making myself feel better. People can say what they want about me and it doesn't bother me at all anymore. Even the bald jerks at work that used to tease me about my receeding hair try to make the same jokes towards me, but then the women always say "what are you talking about?" "He isn't losing his hair!" It's great knowing that only 8 months ago I was really bothered by it and now I don't even think about it anymore. Nobody knows that I had the procedure done and they can't even remeber what it was like when I was visibly losing my hair. I lOVE IT! It may not be for everyone, but it has definitely made me feel better about myself and given me the confidence I needed to go on with my life feeling great.

[KenEastCoast]

Hey Justin-great post-we are pretty much the same age and I'm hoping to feel the same way when I have mine. It's hard when people make comments-people say things that I would never in a million years even remotely consider saying to someone. I guess people are just rude and miserable. Anyway-only a few grand away from what I need. Just hope I can manage having a scar for the first month or so. Later-Ken

[Guest]

Ken,

 

The scar isn't really noticable even after 10 days. You can look at my scar in my initial post immediately following the procedure. If your hair has any length at all, I guarantee you that nobody will be able to tell you had any work done.

[Robert_]

Justin,

 

That is a great difference. You do look a heck of a lot younger. I know about the jokes that one can recieve when thinning. I was the first one of my friends to start receding at 18 or so. Not a fun experience. Good to see that it is working out for you, and you aren't even a full year post-op yet!

 

-Robert

[active34]

Justin-

 

Great results! Your hairline now looks much different, so I'm sure that people suspect you had something done, but most people who hadn't seen you in a while probably just can't nail it down. That's the typical reaction that I've experienced. Did your close friends or co-workers know when you had the procedure?

[Guest]

No, nobody in my family or even my girlfriend at the time knew I had anything done. I went to Shapiro Group on a Wednesday and returned Thursday afternoon. I wore my hair really long, so neither the stitches nor the grafts could be detected. After the 10 day mark, I had the stitches removed and my hair was cut a day after that. Nobody had any clue that anything was different until the 4 1/2 month mark when everything started growing in quickly. I was just getting comments like "your hair is really thicker than it was when you were even in college." My friends are getting suspicious, but never make the hair transplant conclusion because they still believe transplants have the "pluggy" look from back in the early 80's. I just told them I was taking Propecia and they believed it since they really don't have any knowledge on the subject

[active34]

When I returned to the gym after my surgery, I wore a baseball cap, which I had never worn beforehand. Many people questioned my wearing a cap, but I told them that I had fallen down my stairs and received a mild concussion! I think they "fell" for it until I stopped wearing the cap about six weeks later and had little prickly hairs growing around my forehead where I had been shiny bald. Everyone there keeps glancing up at my forehead, but nobody has had the guts to say anything further.

[Guest Gunner1886]

Justin, are you using finasteride and Minox after the procedure?

 

I would if I were you - because it looks like you might lose more hair. I'm sure you're aware of that already though.

 

Would others agree?

 

I'm 24 now. I can see myself going down the route you've gone down. Sadly for me though, my hair is much thinner. Diffused. Check my pictures to see. That's why for me I'll have to get a HT, then carry on using minox and finasteride after. Shouldn't be much of a pain if you can use the minox to "style" your hair - in a way.

 

How much did you pay for your HT?

 

Btw, your mates - lol. Don't dare tell them about getting it done. I'm sure you won't anyway. How must they feel. It must be a great feeling for you, them not being able to put their finger on why your hair "all of a sudden" looks better.

 

I'm in the same situation knowledge wise. My mates/the people around me have no idea how a HT can fix things if done correctly. They, also probably still see it as the pluggy look.

 

The day I walk out with normal hair once again, with the obvious puzzlement to the situation from the people around me, really would be a day to behold.

[Guest]

I have been using finasteride for about 11 months (3 months prior to my procedure). I used Minoxidil for the first 2 months post op and then quit. I read that Minoxidil only is beneficial for a few months, but I'm not sure about that. I will probably try to start using it again as an experiment to see if my hair thickens. I even tried Avodart (dutasteride) for a few months prior to finasteride, but the side effects were too dramatic. You can read about that in my other posts in the "new topics" section.

[Pwralleys]

Justin -

 

I'm scheduled to have an HT with Dr. Rose on 11/18/04 at SMG. I was just wondering if you had any shock loss in the receipent area?

 

Don

[Guest]

I never had a single issue with shock loss. They say sessions in which more grafts are being placed in a tighter area (megasessions) may have shock loss, but I never had any issues. You should be fine, Dr. Rose put the grafts throughout all of my existing hair and I never noticed any shock loss. I read that if the surgeon uses smaller tools and places the grafts far enough apart, it wont shock the existing folicles; either way, if you do experience shock loss, the shocked hair will return. I don't think you have anything to worry about...