Shapiro Medical Group - Minneapolis

After doing five years of research into hair transplantation and having multiple consultations, I decided on Shapiro Medical Group and Dr. David Josephitis due to the clinics stellar expertise and reputation as a forerunner in the field. 1.5 months after the surgery and I have no complaints whatsoever. I am a solid Norwood 5 so had a 2300 graft FUE procedure done to reconstruct my bridge area forward into the hairline. This was probably my first of 2 procedures. Will post before and after pictures when the 1 year time frame concludes and results are at their maximum.

I had a great experience at Shapiro Medical Group. I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Joe, he was great at describing the procedure and answering all the questions I had. He also did a great job working with me to draw out my new hairline. I am on day 3 of my post op and so far it's really been pain free, mainly just tired. Excited for my scabs to come off and the new hair to start coming through.

Updated on 17 Aug 2017:
(Only before Pictures) Highly recommend Shapiro Medical Group. They have the sweetest staff. To the man at the front desk, the consultant, nurses and doctors. Dr. Josephitis did my procedure and the nurses. They were constantly making sure I was doing okay. They even crushed my pills because I have a hard time swallowing large ones. Dr. Josephitis was great at describing the procedure, answering questions and making sure I got exactly what I wanted. Not only did they do everything they could to make me feel comfortable but my mom came with me and they gave her a room to watch movies, brought her blankets, coffee and lunch. Can not say enough how great this doctor is and the place itself.

Updated on 23 Sep 2017:
Just an update for the people who keep asking. It's been a month and a week since surgery. The hair has been falling out the last 2 weeks, like it should be doing. Still a little red. Hair should start growing 3-4 months after surgery so I have awhile til it starts popping back. Will update then.

Updated on 30 Oct 2017:
Already have a tiny bit of growth and only 2 months and 16 days post opp. Hair growth is expected at the 3-4 month mark. Excited to see the changes to come :) Excuse the wet hair

Updated on 3 Dec 2017:
I’m about 3 months and 2 or 3 weeks out. Hair is supposed to start to BEGIN to grow around 3-4 months. Some areas you can hardly see the skin! My left side is more full then the right because I had less hair on my right side. Both sides look great though. Pictures don’t do justice. By 6 months you should have 80% growth so I’ll update then. Ask me anything you want!

Updated on 14 Jan 2018:
I’m am so completely happy I had this procedure done. I use to hate my hairline and be so self conscious but it looks fantastic now! 5 months out and it’s looking great! By month 6 it’ll be 80% growth and then by a year it should be 100% growth!

Updated on 4 Mar 2018:


Updated on 22 Mar 2018:
Amazing results. Super happy. Best descision I’ve ever made.

Updated on 26 Mar 2018:
My right side was a little further back than my left side and was always more self conscious about but not anymore! Looks great.

Updated on 12 Jun 2018:
I am now 10 months post op. I am very happy with my results. Before my surgery I use to obsess over my hair. Every single time I walked past a mirror I would flip my hair over and stare at my natural hairline that went back quite far. I absolutely hated my hair before and now I love it. It’s amazing how much a hairline can change your face and happiness! The new hair is coming in great- it’s a little darker than the rest of my hair- the only thing making it look as if I got it done at all. It has been lightening up with the sun and will continue to do so (doesn’t bother me a bit). My hair is also naturally wavy and I get Brazilian blow outs- Brazilian blow outs make your hair straight if you’ve never heard of them. So the new hair coming in hair some curl to it making it flip out and quite noticeable (coming from someone who never had a lot of hair there to begin with I am happy to see to see the flips even if it looks odd with the rest of my hair being straight). Anyway I am getting a Brazilian blowout on the new hair growth to help out with that. Very happy with my results! No regrets at all!

Updated on 3 Aug 2018:
This picture was taken at my 8 month update but not much hair changed as I am now at 12 months. Hairline is filled in and looks better than ever. If you’re thinking about getting this done just bite the bullet and do it- I promise it’ll be worth it!!

Updated on 3 Aug 2018:
Final result after 8 months. It’s now A year after my procedure and absolutely love my results!! Couldn’t have asked for anything better! Definitely a game charger in my life- no longer afraid to put my hair in a pony tail and worry about my hairline!

Updated on 18 Aug 2018:
Before is a picture in 2017 before my hair transplant surgery. The after picture is August 15, 2018 1 year after my hair transplant surgery! Finally a hairline I can be proud of! Never put my hair up in public before unless it was super hot outside and didn’t have much of a choice. Now I can wear my hair in any style without any care in the world!

My name is Jay and i have had surgery with Dr Ron and Dr Paul Shapiro, i travelled over 4000 miles to have my procedures at Shapiro Medical Group and am thrilled with the results from both doctors. 

During my first visit i arrived at the clinic and Dr Shapiro greeted me with a handshake and welcomed me to his clinic, straight away all my fears disappeared because the guy was one of the most kind, warm hearted gentleman I've ever had the pleasure to meet he really took onboard my hair loss concerns and was very passionate about helping.

Firstly he checked my donor, laxity and recipient site and we discussed the options and for about an hour. He's extremely thorough and answered all my questions and concerns and really took onboard what I was saying. It was obvious the man had my best interests at heart, there was no pressure or rushing to get me into the chair, he wanted to get the plan of attack just right before we started.

After a plan was made i went to the procedure room and the staff greeted me warmly, I felt like a vip and couldn't have been more comfortable, the techs were friendly and made me feel comfortable. Dr's Ron and Paul Shapiro must have had the nicest work force I've eve come across my whole life.

I was then told to put on a medical gown ready for the procedure, whilst doing this their consultant Matt Zupan came in, he introduced himself to me, what a nice guy he was, he seemed genuine, caring and very likeable just like the other staff members.

I was placed in a chair rather like a dentists chair and was given my aneasthetic using an extraordinary vibrating machine that was placed on my forehead to numb my scalp. I never felt any pain whatsoever, just the odd scratch like feeling now and again, but this was normal and was nothing at all to worry about. I can honestly say hand on heart that the aneasthetic wasn't as bad as that administered at a dentist, im soft so if it hurt id be the first to complain.

I was then placed face down on the chair with my chin on a head rest so the strip could be removed. This was painless and to be honest I almost fell asleep as I was comfortable lying there and had had little sleep the night before due to needless worry. After the strip was removed the techs starting the cutting while I was being sutured up.

Dr Shapiro managed to get rid of most of my poor previous scar which came courtesy of another Transplant clinic in my home town, i was thrilled and felt a little emotional, to be honest I almost started to cry soft sod I am lol.

He then started to make the incisions for my new hair with Janna counting everyone out loud so we knew just how many there was. When about 90% of the incisions were made, they used a dye on my recipient area for them to see the incisions better. They saved around 10% of the grafts to be used for fine tuning at the end.

Janna and the other techs then started to plant with Dr Shapiro checking all the time he was very thorough and hardly ever away whilst they were doing this. They planted in a rotation so that each tech didn't become too tired. It was obvious that they had all been there working together for a lot of years as they were like a well oiled machine working in tune with each other it was very impressive.

During the surgery I was given valium to help me relax and offered a choice of DVDs to watch on a TV in front of me, the whole experience was very relaxing.

I can honestly say though that throughout I didn't feel one bit of pain, and I was told that if I did to tell them so they could administer more aneasthetic.

The whole thing lasted from 8.00 am until around 5.00pm with a break in the middle for lunch.

Throughout the surgery I was offered drinks periodically which was a nice gesture as you can imagine sat in a chair that long you become restless and a nice drink every now and again alleviated that .

When most of the grafts were placed Dr S and Janna began to fine tune the hairline with the last lot of grafts and they really took there time over this to ensure it was just right and as planned from the beginning.

After the surgery was finished one off the techs went through all the post operative instructions and gave me a bag with pain killers and some gauze cloths, graftcyte spray and antibiotic cream he was very thorough with the instructions and made sure I understood which was good.

I was then given something to eat and drink before I said goodbye to everyone and thanked Dr Shapiro for all the work he had done , Janna then asked if I was happy with the results and im not ashamed to admit that even though I'm a man off 34yrs old it brought tears to my eyes when I looked in the mirror.

I am so glad i travelled to Shapiro Medical Group and would do it all again in a heartbeat as they are simply incredible in my honest opinion.

I originally had 3 poor transplants prior to visiting SMG in 2008. It took 3 years of online research, mainly on the hair transplant forums to decide who I would go to for my next hair transplant. I decided Dr Ron Shapiro was the doctor to repair my previous surgeries. It wasn't going to be an easy one off repair, Dr Shapiro explained that I'd need further work in the future due to my scarring, some plugs and my continued MPB hair loss.

My first surgery was mainly in the crown and some to the centre of my hair line. At 12 months I was very happy with my result, although my hair was still slowly thinning, even though I use Finasteride. I scheduled my next surgery towards the end of 2009 with Dr Paul Shapiro, after viewing many of his results I believed his skill to be on par with his brother Dr Ron Shapiro. This time I had crown work and my temple corners filled in as they were receding back. Again I was not disappointed at 12 months, the result met all my expectations and I finally ditched the use of hair fibres.

My hair continued to thin very slowly over the next few years, Finasteride has slowed it right down. In 2013 I decided to have more work on my crown and have my temple points restored. This time around I chose Dr David Josephitis of Shapiro Medical Group. I'd met some patients of Dr Josephitis who's results were great, this gave me the confidence to have my next surgery with him. Again I was very happy with my result, it looked good and most importantly it was natural. No one ever guessed I'd had a hair transplant.

The reason I had so many surgeries was firstly, I was a repair patient which is always more difficult for the doctor, crowns are known as the black hole because they usually keep expanding, eating up those precious donor grafts and lastly, I wanted to keep my surgery secret from everyone. Having surgeries around the 1600 graft mark made this possible.

I think I'm the only person in the world who has had a hair transplant by all 3 doctors at Shapiro medical group. The result, aftercare and overall experience was excellent. I can't thank the Smg team enough for turning my life around. I no longer look like Friar Tuc.

I'd say to anyone considering a hair transplant, contact Smg as you won't be disappointed.

Good luck to everyone on your hair restoration journey.

Thought I’d add a quick update:
Things are going ok. I’m finally starting to see some tiny new hairs pop up. They’re essentially translucent so it’s not helping me aesthetically but I’m just relieved to see something happening.
I stuck with red light therapy 3x per week for about a month after the surgery but admittedly I just got tired of driving over there so often. I’m still taking biotin daily and I started taking Vital Proteins Marine Collagen as well 4-7days a week. And I started eating meat again for the first time in 3.5 years which I don’t feel great about but I’m so desperate for my body to have enough protein to support hair growth, so... :/
I don’t have any photos to share this time since my camera won’t capture the new hairs yet but hopefully by next month I can share a proper update. But all is well. I didn’t have any problems with ingrown hairs or permanent nerve damage or anything, yay!