My turn! (SMG on Monday Oct. 12th)

[Severn]

Well I'm at the Country Inn suites in Minnesota now awaiting my procedure on Monday.

 

I spent months trying to decide between Dr. Wong and Dr. Ron Shapiro. They are both at the top of their field and I couldn't decide. Ironically, they were the only two Coalition docs that recommended the same number of grafts for my crown repair work (2500-3000). Then I saw the post on here where Ron and Dr. Wong worked on each half of a patients frontal third demonstrating sagital vs. lateral slits. The end result looked like it had been done by the same doctor. Top notch results.

 

So I have the two top docs in the world recommending the same number of grafts, and who's work appear the be of the same quality for about the same price. It was almost "flip a coin" type of a decision and I went with Ron here at SMG.

 

I know Wong is the "king of crowns" and Ron" is the "king of hairlines", but the geometry of my scalp has been drastically changed from the scalp reductions. I just need enough coverage to cover up the scaring and odd triangular bald pattern. I honestly believe either could do an equally good job.

 

Thanks to Bill and this communtity for all the fine input. Wish me luck!

[the B spot]

Hey Severn, glad to have you my man! I think your right in your assessment. I too (a long time ago) narrowed my choices to Dr. Ron and Dr. Wong.

 

My final choice is obvious, but I think Dr. Wong does excellent work as well. I believe you would have been fine with either doctor.

 

Anyway, we're glad you decided on SMG and I look forward to following your journey and seeing the results.

 

BTW--Country Inn is the best place to stay in Minny...be sure to check out the free breakfast joint right off the foyer before you go in.

 

Take Care,

Jason

[thanatopsis_awry]

Congrats in advance, Sev! I def expect you to end up supremely satisfied and can't wait to see your progress. Just curious -- what were some of the other graft targets/ranges that you got aside from 2500-3000?

[Severn]

Originally posted by thanatopsis_awry:

Congrats in advance, Sev! I def expect you to end up supremely satisfied and can't wait to see your progress. Just curious -- what were some of the other graft targets/ranges that you got aside from 2500-3000?

 

 

The lowest from a coaltion doc was 1200. That would have given me a density of 20 FU/CM2. Not acceptable.

 

The highest was 3500. He was one of the lesser known coaltion docs and I didn't not feel quite comfortable with him for reasons I won't go into.

 

The 2800 that Ron gave me during my in person consult would give me 40FU/CM2. This might not sound like that much, but I am somewhat blessed by thick coarse hair.

 

My frontal half is only 30 FU/Cm2 yet you can not see my scalp from the top view. I've let my hair grow long in preperation for the surgery and my frontal hair is over 3 1/2 inches long. But even at only 30 FU/CM2 and with long hair, I can still spike it straight up like a teenager using no gel!(I'm 49)

 

A little goes a *long* way on me.

[aaron1234]

Good call Severn. Best of luck on Monday.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Cool. Sounds like you're going to be mint, for sure, and I'd have full faith in Dr. Shapiro's prognosis. Always a huge bonus where a little will go a long way.

[M&M]

Severn,

 

Congratulations on doing such diligent research in advance and choosing a top doctor. I look forward to your updates as time progresses.

 

Now, sit back, relax, get a good night's sleep, then get ready to meet a great team, including Dr. Ron and Janna. They will take care of you and then hopefully you have a lot of DVD's to help you pass the time the following days post surgery.

 

How long are you staying in Minnesota? I know I really enjoyed sticking around for a few days so SMG could do the first few washes and check to make sure everything is perfect.

 

All the best!

 

M&M

[Severn]

Originally posted by M&M:

Severn,

 

How long are you staying in Minnesota? I know I really enjoyed sticking around for a few days so SMG could do the first few washes and check to make sure everything is perfect.

 

M&M

 

Ideally, I would have liked that. But Matt said it wasn't necessary. I did arrive a couple of days early though. I didn't want to get in a situation where exceptionally bad weather or flight complications kept me in the airport until Monday morning. I would end up losing my deposit, airline ticket, and have to wait another 3-6 months before trying again!

[Raphael84]

Good luck my man. Your in great hands. Exciting times!

[bullitnut]

all the best pal youre in for a great experience look forward to following your progress

[Drew35]

Good luck Severn.

 

I'm sure the results will be great.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

You made a great choice. You can be assured that Dr. Shapiro will take great care of you. He has a world class staff and takes a lot of pride in his work. Please tell Dr. Ron, Dr. Paul, and the technicians that Dr. Charles says hello and that I miss everyone. It has been a couple of years since I performed surgeries there.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Severn,

 

Tomorrow (technically today since it's 1:44am here) is the big day :-). You've made an excellent choice and I trust you'll be in the best of hands.

 

I look forward to hearing all about how it went.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Severn]

Thanks all!

 

At least I can look forward now to no more scalp exercises. I've done them for an average of about 1-2 hours per day for the last 3 months!

[Severn]

I'll make a special post when I get time, but this is worth mentioning. I just got back for an 11 hour procedure as SMG! They ended up with well over 3000 grafts and could have done more.

 

The point of this is during my consultation in July, due to my scalp reductions, I was gauged as "tight". Matt speculated that I would not be able to get 2500 grafts. I might have to do 1200 then another 1200 on down the line to reach that target.

 

Well, I started doing the scalp exercises religiously. But instead of the recommended 30 minutes, I was averaging 1-2 hours a day. I wanted to shoot for 3-4 but couldn't get the time.

 

The end result when I went in this morning was I went from "tight" to "extremely loose" in 3 months! He went past my original 2500 target to over 3000 and didn't even take "that" long of a strip. I believe he mentioned that if he had gone the full distance on the strip length and width, he could have gotten 4000.

 

His original estimation was 1.0-1.2 CM wide. He eventually did 1.42 and said he probably could have gotten 2.0! He ended up running out of places to put the grafts so he put all the "1" in the hairline to strengthen it up.

 

The moral of the story, is if you do the scalp exercises religiously, and put in a bit more effort to double the recommended time, you can drastically change your elasticity!( A LOT!)

 

(I'll try to do a complete writeup soon on the exact numbers and experience.)

[aaron1234]

Severn.. congrats man. 1-2 hours of scalp exercises a day?!?!? HOLY CRAP MAN! That's dedication. I was having a hard time with like 15 minutes a day. Glad it paid off for you and can't wait to see some pics!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Severn,

 

I think you might go through withdraw not having to do scalp exercises anymore since you devoted so much time to them .

 

I'm glad your diligence in performing scalp exercises paid off and got you more grafts than anticipated

 

Bill

[Severn]

Originally posted by Bill - Associate Publisher:

Severn,

 

I think you might go through withdraw not having to do scalp exercises anymore since you devoted so much time to them .

 

 

 

Bill

 

Tell me about it! I had to catch myself because this mornning because I was so used to doing 15-20 minutes in the morning followed by the 1+ hours later that night.

 

The 1-2 hours isn't that bad at all if you do it right. The trick is to put on a movie, lay on the couch and just zone out doing the exercises in 5-10 minute intervals. You are distracted watching the boob tube so it goes by quickly. Rest after each 5 minutes so your arms don't get tired.

 

 

Dr. Glenn: They all said hello back!

[M1A1]

Severn,

 

That's great out of the box thinking on your part about the scalp exercises... I only did them for about 30 minutes a day for a couple of months and went from a 14cm strip to a 30 sm strip.

 

Keep us informed.

 

Best,

[rpachigo]

Congrats and great job with the exercises!

[Rachmunas4life]

I first thought I would do strip (now doing fue) and did an hour of so of stretching exercises for 2 months. Now I have to live with a really loose scalp, haha! I'll probably have to do strip eventually (hopefully after 40).

 

Anyways SMG is who I want for FUE so I'm happy everyone is always 100% satisfied going to SMG!

[Severn]

I don't have the pictures yet but here is the breakdown:

 

FU's 3008. Hairs = 6219

 

1's - 799

2's - 1354

3's - 708

4's - 147

 

Donor density = 88 FU/CM2 (dense)

Donor laxity after exercises = Very loose

Hair characteristics = black and very coarse.

 

Pain during injections: NONE initially. M&M was right, the massager on the scalp seemed to take away any sensation of pain. I did feel a couple of pinches later when they had to re-deaden it. It was no worse than going to the dentist though. Probably less in fact.

 

As I stated before, Ron ran out of room to put any more grafts in the crown area so he put 1's into my existing hairline to strengthen it up. Ironically, since each individual hair I have is so thick, my natural hairline actually looks almost like I have plugs!

 

This should help a lot on the crown area worked on. At 42 FU/CM2 and with very thick hair, it *should* go beyond just an illusion of fullness. The bald area had 5 FU/CM2 so that will bring it up to 47 FU/CM2.

 

Ron checked my frontal core and it was 35 FU/CM2. At 35fu/cm2, I can not see my scalp from a top or front view. And as I said, I can even spike it straight up without gel and it looks like a teen haircut lol.

 

Rachmunas: Your scalp should tighten back up in time.

 

EDIT: Also, what more can be said about Dr. Shapiro? The man's a genius. My compliments also go out to the hard working techs and Matt Zupan's informative consults. You will never see a "hard sell" tactic from this guy.

[Janna]

Hi Severn,

 

I will send pics to you as soon as they are downloaded from the camera.

 

Thanks again for the treats this morning - much appreciated. Very sweet of you. Safe travels today and be sure to contact us with any questions or concerns.

 

-janna & smg team

[aaron1234]

Those are some great numbers Severn. I'm still so impressed with your 1-2 hours of scalp exercises per day. That's just incredible and will only help you in the long run. Can't wait to see your pics. But don't praise Dr. Shapiro too much, you just might get accused of cheerleading!

[Severn]

Originally posted by aaron1234:

But don't praise Dr. Shapiro too much, you just might get accused of cheerleading!

 

Hey, I'm straight as an arrow and would never think of cross dressing. But if I get the results I think I'm going to get, I'll gladly grab some pom poms and put on a wig and skirt with an SMG logo on the front!

 

And although I may be cheerleading a little bit, I have to give credit to H&W for their excellent scalp exercising video. Without it my scar would have been *much* longer and about 500 grafts lower. I'm sure Dr. Wong(among others) could have done a great job too. But eventually you have to get off your duff and choose a doctor.