C
Celtic
Member
Hi everyone!! I hope you are all keeping very well. I am a great fan of this site and have been silently researching on it for some time now. I have a scar revision plus grafts surgery with Dr. Ron Shapiro on 28[suP]th[/suP] April 2010. I would like to share my experience with you all as I believe it really helps with making decisions. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences as it really helped with my research!
Unfortunately I have had two poor HTs over the last 3 year period.
2007 Irish Doctor 1000 grafts, the grafts grew, but angles were poor and the scar was wide.
2008 South Florida clinic 2200 grafts, very poor growth and wide scar remained.
My main reason for posting is to aid others with their research. I do not want to give the above doctors names and please don t pressure me about this. The south Florida doctor used to be recommended on forums but is no longer.
So here is my current situation. I am almost 25 yrs old, very diffuse thinner. Based on family history, I don t think my baldness would exceed norwood 5. 3200 grafts have been harvested already from my donor but the second surgery yielded very poor growth so I estimate I only have approx 1500 max grafts total on the top of my head. My scar at the moment doesn t allow me shave below blade 8 and the length of my hair makes my balding look worse. My ultimate goal would be to keep my hair quite short and have overall light coverage.
I began doing a lot of research for my 3[suP]rd[/suP] HT just under a year ago. I consulted with many well known clinics in North America. After my phone Consultation with Matt Zupan in Shapiro Medical I was confident in my decision. I ll always remember the opening of that conversation with Matt. I thought I would need only a few minutes consult as ive had 2 HTs previously. And wow was I surprised the consultation lasted an hour, gave me a lot to think about that evening and then we had another consult the following day. Since then Matt is great for answering all my questions over the last few months.
I am flying out to Minneapolis in 2 days time and looking forward to meeting every one there. Looking forward to see the Twin Cities too, and that huge mall and American food portions too!! J
From our consultation, the plan for this surgery will be to remove my wide scar, leaving a much finer one and put the grafts we get in my hairline. Then for my next surgery a larger amount of grafts could be harvested due to a finer scar and this will allow the doc to work further back towards the crown. When I meet Dr Ron in a few days I will know more but at the moment I am very happy with this plan of action.
Ok thanks for reading guys, I have attached photos and will keep them updated. I took the photos by the window today in sunny Ireland (rarely sunny and Ireland go in the same sentence!!) so they are quite bright but give a good idea of my situation. My photos are visible in my gallery link below. These are pre-op photos, my surgery is on 28 April 2010 and i will upload new photos then.
Cheers!!
Pre op pictures.
Surgery pictures from SMG
Surgery details
Unfortunately I have had two poor HTs over the last 3 year period.
2007 Irish Doctor 1000 grafts, the grafts grew, but angles were poor and the scar was wide.
2008 South Florida clinic 2200 grafts, very poor growth and wide scar remained.
My main reason for posting is to aid others with their research. I do not want to give the above doctors names and please don t pressure me about this. The south Florida doctor used to be recommended on forums but is no longer.
So here is my current situation. I am almost 25 yrs old, very diffuse thinner. Based on family history, I don t think my baldness would exceed norwood 5. 3200 grafts have been harvested already from my donor but the second surgery yielded very poor growth so I estimate I only have approx 1500 max grafts total on the top of my head. My scar at the moment doesn t allow me shave below blade 8 and the length of my hair makes my balding look worse. My ultimate goal would be to keep my hair quite short and have overall light coverage.
I began doing a lot of research for my 3[suP]rd[/suP] HT just under a year ago. I consulted with many well known clinics in North America. After my phone Consultation with Matt Zupan in Shapiro Medical I was confident in my decision. I ll always remember the opening of that conversation with Matt. I thought I would need only a few minutes consult as ive had 2 HTs previously. And wow was I surprised the consultation lasted an hour, gave me a lot to think about that evening and then we had another consult the following day. Since then Matt is great for answering all my questions over the last few months.
I am flying out to Minneapolis in 2 days time and looking forward to meeting every one there. Looking forward to see the Twin Cities too, and that huge mall and American food portions too!! J
From our consultation, the plan for this surgery will be to remove my wide scar, leaving a much finer one and put the grafts we get in my hairline. Then for my next surgery a larger amount of grafts could be harvested due to a finer scar and this will allow the doc to work further back towards the crown. When I meet Dr Ron in a few days I will know more but at the moment I am very happy with this plan of action.
Ok thanks for reading guys, I have attached photos and will keep them updated. I took the photos by the window today in sunny Ireland (rarely sunny and Ireland go in the same sentence!!) so they are quite bright but give a good idea of my situation. My photos are visible in my gallery link below. These are pre-op photos, my surgery is on 28 April 2010 and i will upload new photos then.
Cheers!!
Pre op pictures.
Surgery pictures from SMG
Surgery details
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