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Dr. Ron Shapiro

coalition member Elite Coalition Member
Hair transplant patient

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About

I started losing my hair in my mid twenties. I tried minoxidil and other topical treatments but my hairline kept receding and my hair got thinner on top. I then wore a "hair stystem" for several years but this always felt phony.

Finally, I found Dr. Ron Shapiro in 1996 and after 3 sessions of about 1,500 grafts each I was able to get completely out from under my hair system. It was very liberating to have a completely natural look that was my own naturally growing hair again.

More recently, November of 2004, I had Dr. Paul Rose in Tampa Florida add about 1,000 grafts in my crown area, which over time had continued to thin. This new hair has now grown in and helped add fullness and shape to me crown area.

On November 21st of 2006 (ten years after my first hair transplant) I did another session of 1,631 grafts (3,902 hairs) with Dr. Ron Shapiro.


My Surgical Treatments to Date

Three session of about 1,500 follicular unit grafts with Dr. Ron Shapiro from 1996 to 1998. An additional 1,000 grafts with Dr. Paul Rose in Tampa, Florida. Then a session of 1,631 grafts (3,902 hairs) in November of 2006.

My Non Surgical Treatments

Past - Hair System and Rogaine

Current - Propecia and some "Prothik" hair thickening spray to add fullness and density to my hair on top.

Bald Class

Bald class 5A

Norwood stage 5A

In stage 5A, the hairline continues to progress toward the back of the head.

When I first started noticing my hair thinning and beginning to recede at around age 24 I felt cheated of my youth. I knew that at the rate I was thinning I was fast heading for a serverly receding hairline or worse yet - bald well before age 30.  And at that time there weren't any real hair loss treatments. Even Rogaine had not been FDA approved and there was no Propecia. Hair transplants also were outrageously expensive - as much as $25 to $35 per graft for plugs and minis.

At first I tried hair loss treatments like prescription Minoxidil (before the days of over the counter Rogaine). But after a few months I noticed no improvements and I didn't like how it made my scalp goopy and itchy. So I quit using Rogaine and my hair loss really took off.

Given these realities I found my hair loss a constant losingbattle, which was very depressing. It was like a constant cloud that followed me every where.

Given so few options at the time for restoring my own real hair I started wearing a hair piece. It could look natural. But it took lots of care and I was always worried about the wind, nephews and nieces pulling on my hair and girl friends who might do the same. I wore "hair systems" for about seven years. But wearing a hair system made me increasingly feel phony and neurotic. 

But then in the late nineties I took a new look at hair transplants and found that it had come a long way from plugs and mini grafts. With the advent of follicular unit hair transplantation it had finally became a viable and natural option.

After three sessions of about 1,500 grafts each I was able to restore a natural looking and relatively full look in the hairline and midscalp regions. Once all these new hairs had grown in I was able to trash my last hair piece, which was very liberating.

The only treatment that actually restored my lost hair was hair restoration surgery. I was lucky to be among some of the first patients to get follicular unit hair transplantation when it was emerging as the new "gold standard" in hair restoration surgery. Dr. Ron Shapiro was one of the true pioneers of this technique and he also had an excellent eye for creating  very natural hairline and distribution.

I also take Propecia as insurance against further hair loss. Propecia has not restored any of the hair I lost but it may be keeping me from losing more.

I'm very glad I did hair transplantation. It was like rolling back time and in many ways it felt like regaining my lost youth. Of course, I'm now so used to having my hair and not worrying about losing it that I now take it for granted.

But when I read posts on our hair loss forum from new patients who are so excited to have new hair growing in it reminds me of how exciting it was to actually beat hair loss - finally.

For those who have already lost considerable hair, a hair transplant is really the only option for getting that hair back in the hairline. The key is to only do surgery with a truly excellent and ethical hair restoration clinic that is taking the time and effort to do it right.

I've spent years attending international hair transplant meetings and workshops and visiting dozens of leading clinics worldwide to gather information about what is truly state of the art and who is doing such hair transplantation with excellent results. Only those surgeons who I believe are doing competent and state of the art hair transplantation are presented on our educational websites. These leading surgeons are presented at www.HairTransplantNetwork.com

I suggest that a potential patient do plenty of research to determine if hair transplantation is right for them and if so who is the best clinic for them. I strongly suggest that patients be open to traveling to get the absolute best results, which will last a life time. Many patients now travel to get the very best results.

For those who are younger and losing hair I suggest they get a prescription for Propecia to slow or halt hair loss, whether they do hair transplants or not. As for the rest of the "treatments" I think they are marginal at best and often down right snake oil more than not.

It was great for my moral. This positive experience also led me to share my story on the Internet back in the late nineties with a simple looking site that I put together myself. In time this site evolved into a true online community - the Hair Transplant Network at www.HairTransplantNetwork.com - that has helped hundreds of people learn how to also restore their own real hair. 

This community has also helped truly excellent hair transplant surgeons get the recognition and patients they deserve.

Helping people find great surgeons and restore their hair has been my full time work for well over five years now. I've truly turned my lemon into my lemonade. It feels good to know that I took a negative and turned it into a positive for not only me but hundreds if not thousands of other hair loss sufferers. So for me, surgery has changed my life in many positive ways. 

Don't despair! There really is hope for restoring your hair. Me and hundreds of other people are living proof of this.

But one must be careful - even today. Yes, how to do great hair transplants is no longer a secret. But unfortunately many if not most hair transplant surgeons still take too many short cuts that save time and money at the expense of  patient results. The key is to go only to those clinics who really care about patients more than money (i.e. high volume, short cuts, minimal staff and equipment, speed rather than taking the time to optimize the surgery etc.)

Before choosing a surgeon I strongly suggest using the "Find" feature on our discussion forum to search for posts about this surgeon going back 5 years. Tens of thousands of posts have been made about surgeons on our forum over the past 5 years by people and patients with first hand experience. This is an incredible resource. Please use it.

Also feel free to post your questions and concerns on our forum. Normally you will get plenty of constructive replies to your question from very helpful people who are also hair loss sufferers.

With enough information and knowledge you will be both able and comfortable in restoring your own real hair. We're here for you.

Best wishes for restoring your hair too.

Patrick Hennessey, Publisher of the www.HairTransplantNetwork.comwww.HairLossLearingCenter.org and www.HairRestorationNetwork.com

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My Latest journal entries

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Publisher
Bald class: 5A
Procedure 1

8 Month From Last Surgery

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Publisher
Bald class: 5A
Procedure 1

Eight month Update from last surgery As of July 21st my last session with Dr. Ron Shapiro was at 8 months post op. My impression at eight months is that the improvement so far is subtle. In fact, during the past few months I have really not noticed the transplanted hair growing in.This could be due to the transplanted hair being added in between existing hair. Or it could be that after five surgical sessions my scalp vascularity is compromised so that my new hair growth is suppressed or greatly delayed.I'm proof indeed that hair loss is "progressive" and can only be treated as it progresses but not "cured". All twenty two year olds who are in a rush to use up their limited donor area to dense pack their receding hairlines should keep this concept in mind.Remember hair transplants can't restore a full head of hair on people with extensive hair loss - it can only create the "illusion of fullness".I find that by using Prothik spray does dramatically increase the look of fullness of my hair transplants. I expect that other cover up products like Toppik etc also provide similar benefits. I like the spray rather than the sprinkle on Toppik or paint on couvre. Of course, I may get black lung disease like a coal miner from breathing all that sticky spray over the years. But small price to pay to have a full look, right?I hope my growth is just very delayed at eight months. I'll keep everyone posted.Best wishes, Pat

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Publisher
Bald class: 5A
Procedure 1

My Nov 21st 2006 Surgery with Dr. Ron Shapiro They say that like money, you can never have enough hair. And who on this forum would ever object to more hair on top of their head? Call me greedy, but last week I went in and got 1,631 grafts (3,907 hairs) added to the top of my head. Yes, while others limp by with no hair transplant at all I had the nerve to ask and get even more with the masterful Dr. Ron Shapiro and his staff. So now I’m back in the post op mode with a numb head and a long wait ahead for sprouts. Graft and Hair Breakdown of my hair transplant surgery:257 one hair grafts – 257 hairs764 two hair grafts – 1,528 hairs424 three hair grafts – 1,272 hairs85 four hair grafts – 340 hairs101 DFU grafts – 505 hairs(Double Follicular Units with 4 to 5 hairs per graft)Total of 1,631 grafts (3,907 hairs) Dr. Shapiro played it safe to avoid any unnecessary tension on the donor suture by not going more than 1 cm wide. He varied the width, which averaged about 8 cm wide across a combined length of 28.5 cms. Thus he removed about 22.8 cm2 of donor tissue from the sides and back of my head. He also used three internal sutures to reduce tension on the skin level sutures, which were staples. He also did a trichophytic closure to minimize any cosmetically visible scarring. Going into this most recent surgery I was very happy with my current donor scar, which was hard to find even under close examination. I did donor stretching/massaging exercises two or three times a day for two to three weeks prior to surgery. I started to notice my donor laxity really improving toward the second week. I only wish I had started earlier. Both Dr. Shapiro and I think these exercises increased my scalp laxity considerably. I highly recommend that any potential patient do these exercises to optimize the amount of donor tissue that can be safely removed in any one session. To see an excellent video presentation on how to do these useful exercises visit our the Scalp Exercises post by Joe Tilman of Hasson and Wong (thanks Joe). I expect this most recent session to heal up well, especially given the limited width of the donor removed. It has also been easy to conceal my post recipient grafts since they were placed in and around my existing hair transplants. In fact, two days after surgery I went out dining and drinking with no cap – just some limited amount of Prothik spray. Background My first hair transplant was in September of 1996, followed only 6 months later with a second session and then a third session less than a year after that one. It was heady times to go from a balding thirty something to a thickening man. But years later, despite the use of Propecia, my midscalp and crown areas gave up hair. As they say “hair loss is progressive”. So a couple of years ago I added about 1,000 grafts in my crown area. This surgery was performed in Florida by Dr. Rose. This small surgery healed up great, especially in my donor area. Although this was a small session it did add enough fullness in my crown so that with some limited use of Prothik or Toppik my crown actually looks fairly full. More recently I found that my hair stylist was thinning my hair on the side a bit to balance with the top. So I decided a more permanent solution would be to have Dr. Ron Shapiro remove some of my donor hair from the sides and transplant it to the top where it was needed. After looking my photos from a top view with my hair was parted it was apparent that I could benefit from more hair in this central area. I also wanted to thicken up my hairline a bit in the corners and central area. Dr. Shapiro was also able to add some hair to the top of my crown area. Next week I will get my staples out. That should be interesting. In the past all my donor closures were done with running nylon sutures. This is my first experience with staples. Over the past week my scalp in the donor area was simply to numb to feel much of any thing. But I expect that as healing accelerates in my donor area in the coming week, and feeling returns, I will find the staples to be irritating. So far I’ve had no need or interest in taking the Vicodan pain pills. Perhaps I will put them to recreational use at a future date :-) I don’t expect to experience any shock loss since all my new grafts were added in and around hearty transplanted hairs. Now comes the long wait for spring and all the new sprouts. Best wishes to all for happy hair growth.Pat - Once again the "Recovering Bald Guy"

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Publisher
Bald class: 5A
Procedure 1

Six months after first surgery It was very exciting watching my new transplanted hair growing in beginning around 4 months after surgery. To go from a thinning male to a thickening male is an exciting turn around. It grew in thin at first and then got continually thicker and fuller with each week. It was a very gradual regrowth process.

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Publisher
Bald class: 5A
Procedure 1

Seven years after my first surgery As one would expect, I'm very glad I did hair transplantation. After three sessions of about 1,500 grafts each I was able to re-establish a relatively full look. For me it was like rolling back time and in many ways it felt like regaining my lost youth. It was great for my moral. This positive experience also led me to share my story on the Internet back in the late nineties with a simple looking site that I put together myself. In time this site evolved into a true online community - the Hair Transplant Network.com - that has helped hundreds of people learn how to also restore their own real hair. Helping people find great surgeons and restore their hair has been my full time work for well over five years now. I've truly turned my lemon into my lemonade. It feels good to know that I took a negative and turned it into a positive for not only me but hundreds if not thousands of other people.  

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Publisher
Bald class: 5A
Procedure 1

My photo years ago before hair transplation I first started thinning and receding at around age 24. I knew that at the rate I was thinning I was fast heading for a mature hairline or worse yet - bald well before age 30.  And sure enough by age 33 I was as bald as shown in the above photo.  

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Publisher
Bald class: 5A
Procedure 1

Ten days after surgery After tiring of wearing a hair system for seven years I took a new look at hair transplantation around 1997 and found that it had come a long way from plugs and mini grafts. With the advent of follicular unit hair transplantation it had finally became a viable and natural option. I took the plunge with my first session being around 1,500 grafts, which was a big "mega session" back then. The surgery only had minor discomfort and in general it was an exciting and positive day having the whole staff working to correct my hair loss. I wore my "hair system" over it while my hair transplants took root and grew. I did remove my hair system as much as possible to enable my new hair to not be smothered any more than nessicary (think of carpet laying on top of grass and you get the idea).