You guys are so supportive - it's great!

B-Spot - Good to hear from you and a fellow SMG patient! I can't say I am truly 'unhappy' as one of my major goals has been attained - a non-pluggy hairline which definitely affords me more freedom. But I still desire more thickness. I will definitely wait the full 12-months before making any further decisions.

Janna has been in contact with me already and Dr. Shapiro even provided his personal cell phone number. He truly is a class act. Unfortunately, I got home rather late, so I will call tomorrow and will pass on the outcome.

Eman - Thanks! I totally agree that we set high expectations and constantly critique our own hair. I wish I had someone who was near me who could offer an unbiased opinion ... but I haven't told anyone near me what I have done... It's nice to have a secret!

NoBuzz - haha - truly Mini & Micro but I do like to think of myself as 'the other' M&M! lol

M&M-

Been following your thread after the recent updates. I know what you mean...........pics can be deceiving. From the looks of yours, it really looks great, but I understand what you mean about density.

I do believe you still have some thickening to do so maybe the end result will meet your expectations?? I'll be anxious to hear how things turn out for you!

M&M,

Sorry for the late reply my friend. I've been more "in and out" in recent days simply because my days have been filled with various tasks that prevents me from coming to the hairloss forums as much as I'd like...plus I admit, that even when I have had time later in the evening, I've been so tired from the day's work that I simply couldn't muster the energy to think and reply.

That being said, I did want to chime in and offer my support as well. I agree that the hairline does still look a bit thin, however, from what i can see, it does look nice and natural. As others have said, it's good to hold off a final evaluation until at least a year (though I understand the temptation...heck, I'm tempted to evaluate my HT now at 3.5 months...though I know it would be ridiculous). Give it some more time to thicken up before final evaluation. If then you decide that it didn't produce enough density for you, consider then another HT to add to it.

Keep us posted my friend.

Falc

Hairbank - Thanks for the compliments. I'm hopeful that I will continue to thicken up over the next several months.

Falc - I was wondering if you didn't like me as it took so long for a response! Just kidding! Even you are allowed to take some time for yourself!

I feel really fortunate being able to receive the input of the members of this forum and also to be getting such strong support from SMG. Everyone hears of the horror stories of some HT clinics that fade away the moment the surgery (and money transfer) has been completed. But SMG (and the other recommended clinics on this site, I would presume) truly stand behind customer satisfaction.

Dr. Shapiro has already sent me an email and we are going to talk later this week/weekend and Matt is calling me from his home number to talk to me also!

I'll keep everyone posted.

M&M,

quote:

Falc - I was wondering if you didn't like me as it took so long for a response! Just kidding! Even you are allowed to take some time for yourself!

Not at all buddy...lol. Time off is a good thing though .

I'm glad to hear that SMG as well as the members of this forum have been here to support you through this...it really does help doesn't it? I know it would be a lot harder if I didn't have my fellow brothers here supporting me through my journey.

Falc

Very satisfactory results for a top doc. I wouldnt be happy either.Hows the scar? Havent been impressed by Dr shapiros lately.Thats too bad because I live in Illinois and was considering him.

un,subpar,disappointing

quote:

Very satisfactory results for a top doc. I wouldnt be happy either.Hows the scar? Havent been impressed by Dr shapiros lately.Thats too bad because I live in Illinois and was considering him.

While I disagree with your statement and I am unsure as to how you are arriving at your opinion, the fact is it's YOUR opinion and you are entitled to it.

The great part about this site is there are many great Docs to choose from. Not every Doc is a perfect fit for a patient, for one reason or another, or vice-versa.

Hopefully, you can find a Dr that is satisfactory and share your criteria for choosing them and document your journey to more hair!

Take care
J

M & M,

Personally I think it looks quite good. But like others have said maybe the pictures don't do it justice. We are all incredibly hard on ourselves, I know for a fact one day I will be like "my hair looks great!" and then the next day I can't figure out why I said that the day before because I start focusing so much on it and literally get inches away from the mirror with overhead lights exposing any flaws. Granted I have learned to not do this so much, but I think we all get obsessed with our hair and get way too critical on ourselves.

I think we also need to realize that even the best HT's aren't going to mimick what we had naturally, we can come close but in reality we cannot have the same density we had before we lost hair.

Give it the year and then see where you are, and if still not happy and the doc can help take it from there! Good luck man!

Bspot. I hate having to say that since I had cut my list down from Wolf ,Konior,and Feller ,and Alexander to only Shapiro or H&W. I was CONVINCED Dr shapiro was the one due to his so-called hairline "magic" ,but searching alot of his results I believe he has been passed up,by the outstanding hairline dense packing of Armani,Rahal,hell even Alexander lately.You asked why did I arrive to that opinion. Its because that M&M had 1600 put into his hairline ,and at 9 months its very thin.Yes,it looks natural,but very see through .I was rooting for him for quite awhile ,since we are in the same boat ,and his pics were disappointing. Btw Im sure if Jim Hendry doesnt sign Carlos youll be upset also GO SOX!!!!,and also you brought to my attention Dr Alexander,and thats who Im replacing Dr Shapiro with.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hairycaray:

Its because that M&M had 1600 put into his hairline ,and at 9 months its very thin.Yes,it looks natural,but very see through.



Hairycaray,

Lets remember that at 9 months, while many are seeing subtantial results, others may be slow bloomers. It may take up to 12 - 18 months to see the final result. I am not saying it is the case here, its just that we do not know, it is possible though. Your opinions are welcome here my friend and it does look like you are doing your research. We would like for you to share with us your situation with the forum, we are all in this together.

Well, it's been a busy week, but a good week. I called up SMG and spoke to Matt (at home, no less) and Dr. Shapiro (also at home!).

First, here are the details of my HT:

1662 FUs 3119 hairs total

1s-554 554 hairs
2s-792 1584 hairs
3s-283 849 hairs
4s-33 132 hairs

I attached three photos taken the day of my surgery back in May 2006, and then tried my best to replicate the angle and lighting as best I could this afternoon. The improvement is certainly noticeable.

Both Dr. Shapiro and Matt believe that my HT hair should thicken up over the next few months. In fact, Dr. Shapiro brought up a good point in that with people who have had multiple prior surgeries (4 w/ Bosley), the recipient area vascular supply could have been compromised, delaying results by 1-2 months.

In other words, instead of having to wait another 2.5 months, I may need to wait another 1-2 months beyond that to see my true '12-month' status.

Both were very reassuring, but at the same time fully heard my side: very pleased with naturalness, still some concern on thickness at this stage.

Gorpy also brought up a good point, which is that my hairline may appear a bit 'thin' as my native hair behind it is hanging in there quite nicely. (Thank you Rogaine & Propecia and a healthy diet...)

Who knows - I may be a 'late bloomer'... so I will hang in there and continue to document my process.

Sounds reassuring MM, Relax and let the good times grow!!!

M&M,

There is a definite improvement from pre to post Shapiro indeed. Still some thickening to come rest assured.

Falc

Thanks for posting the other photos. There is a drastic difference to the before and after. Dr. Ron has done an excellent job of restoring and correcting your hairline. I personally believe that it might appear a little thin but with time it will be perfect. Isn't it comforting to get the support you did from Matt and doc?


4 surgeries prior with Bosley??? Doh!

NN - yes, sadly, four indeed. Now, all were quite small procedures.

As written in my blog:

It was about 12 years ago when I had my first hair transplant at Bosley Medical in Seattle - 50 grafts placed behind my existing hairline. The goal was to 'stay ahead of my hair loss' (as they marketed in their brochures) with small procedures spaced out over time. After four of these small sessions (100, 300, 400) and the thinning of my own hair, all that was left was the Bosley Mini & Micro Grafts. Well, as you can see, the result left me styling my hair in a manner that would cover the thin and unnatural hairline.

(back from the blog quoting...)

I fell for the line, but I'm thankful that I didn't have any additional work done. When I think of how good my hair was when I first went to them and they *still* performed a transplant on me, it makes me realize just how they take advantage of people's insecurity.

Now the truly sad part? I finally got sick and tired of my hairline that I was contemplating another HT about one year ago. And who I was thinking of going to? Well, Bosley, of course, knowing no better. Then I did a search for 'hair transplants' on google and stumbled across this site (as the first listing!), and I've been thankful ever since!

Well thank God you found this site and now have had things rectified. You really do need to understand that you look great and your new hairline will only look that much better with time.

M&M,
I looked at your album and hair log in detail and I am finding some resemblance to my case. First I'll say that you are coming along nicely, I also heard that after several HT's your capillaries may get a bit taxed and take longer. I really think you will continue to see thickening beyond the 12 months mark. Dr. Shapiro is a star and this is a guarantee against any setback. I got about 1300 FU in my hairline and temples to achieve better density as well and I realize that density will come after coverage, from my readings and seeing members pictures, the reality/illusion of coverage is easier to achieve, true density comes in after maturation of growth in most cases. I am 3 weeks post HT now and unless I get lucky, I think I'll have to be patient beyond 12 months to observe the results I was shooting for. No one likes to wait so I remind myself that every month will bring it's bounty of slight improvements and I stay on the forum for support.

Hello,
My name is Matt Zupan and I represent the Shapiro Medical Group as Patient Coordinator/Educator.
While I occasionally spend time reading the forum and following the progress of our patients, I often do not get the chance to respond to various threads.
We have posted a few examples of some hairlines we have done. We have hundreds more. As you know we don’t really try and push ourselves on the internet as our work and patients usually speak for themselves. But some of the comments on this thread made me want to explain our approach and give a few examples.

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2566060861/m/2321004003

Educator,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for posting on behalf of SMG group.

Falc

P.S. Pictures look great!