The TLC medical reality series Dr. Pimple Popper is one of the most bizarre reality shows on television thanks to the endlessly fascinating conditions of the body and how they can present themselves on human skin.
Even before the show premiered, dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee earned the nickname "Dr. Pimple Popper" thanks to her popular YouTube and Instagram pages, where she posted pimple-popping videos that captivated online audiences. On her show, Dr. Lee comes face to face with a series of increasingly unique and challenging skin conditions that she has never tackled before.
The Record-Breaking Bump
49-year-old New Yorker Ronen came to Dr. Lee's office with a mysterious bump that he had had since childhood, which had doubled in size over the past few years. Ronen struggled to do daily activities such as put pants on or drive in his car.
Quick-thinking Dr. Lee soon diagnosed the problem as a cyst. the biggest she had ever seen. Once she opened up the cyst for surgery, she squeezed out creamy, oatmeal-like liquid by the bowl-full. As shown in a clip from the show, the gross procedure certainly isn't for the faint-hearted.
Dr. Lee's Heaviest Lipoma Ever
Farmer Tim from North Carolina struggled to keep up his labor due to a hunchback-like lipoma growing across his back, which kept him from tending to his crops and driving his tractor. Tim felt so self-conscious about the lump that he refused to go out into town or go on dates.
In a medical scene that is not for the squeamish, Dr. Lee struggled through the surgery, as the growth was next to his spine. After taking out the huge bump that barely fit in the container, the weigh-in revealed that the lipoma weighed 12 pounds, 9 ounces, equivalent to the size of newborn twins.
The Lipoma Hidden Under A Hoodie
One of her first-ever patients on the show, Melissa had a lump on her shoulder almost the size of her head. It started as a small bump in 2015, but the mysterious neck growth soon tripled in size, making the insecure young woman wear hoodies everywhere, even in front of family or in hot weather.
As shown in a brutal clip from the show, the lipoma started to come out as soon as Dr. Lee made an incision, a procedure so tough Melissa could feel Dr. Lee pull the pieces out of her. The lipoma came out in some gruesome, stomach-churning pieces of fat that weighed three pounds in total, although its incredible size made it look like it weighed 10 times as much on poor Melissa's shoulder.
The Popeye-Like Pop
Happy go-lucky-dad and dancer Inoke was being weighed down by a big lump on his bicep, giving him the appearance of cartoon character Popeye. Inoke struggled with daily activities, even struggling to fit into his plane seat on his flight to Dr. Lee's office.
Before surgery, Inoke was worried his lump was life-threatening, but a consultation with Dr. Lee revealed it was a benign, fatty tumor called a lipoma. Surgery revealed that Inoke's bicep bump weighed an impressive 9 pounds, the size of a healthy baby. Soon, Inoke was able to get back to dancing and live life to the fullest once more.
The 55-Year-Old Blackhead
Sweet grandmother Doris took her grandson Bryce for a unique Christmas unwrapping: a rock-like blackhead that she's had for 55 years. The last time she popped it, in 1975, the blackhead was painful and quickly grew back.
Dr. Lee and her team gave Doris the best Christmas gift of all: a surgery that removed the blackhead and made sure it wouldn't come back, although the penny-sized blackhead was as hard as a lump of coal. The difference Dr. Lee's expertise can bring to old, complex conditions like Doris' makes Dr. Pimple Popper one of the weirdest, yet most heartwarming TLC shows ever made.
One Woman's Mysterious Horn On Her Head
One of the most mesmerizing medical mysteries seen on the TV show, loving mom Lisa started her appointment with Dr. Lee in tears, due to the painful lump on her head that is hard like a fingernail. The unique, curved growth was a horn, more likely to be seen in the animal kingdom than on a human, grew rapidly in just a year.
Poor Lisa was terrified that the horn was cancerous, but thankfully, Dr. Lee's good work soon revealed the growth was totally benign. The growth is known as a cutaneous horn, a hard skin projection that arose from a cyst growing underneath Lisa's skin.
The Puzzling Pilar Cyst
28-year-old Irais' new life in America wasn't living up to its full potential due to a huge lump on the side of her head growing through her hair follicles. The lump was pointed out by customers and co-workers at her job, and her children were even bullied over it at school, making Irais a social recluse.
Irais was unable to afford the surgery needed to remove the growth, but Dr. Lee stepped in and offered her free surgery to remove the lump. Dr. Lee's procedure soon proved the lump to be a pilar cyst. The huge, balloon-like cyst required Dr. Lee to remove parts of Irais' scalp, but the surgery was successful, with Dr. Lee blending the scar into her hairline.
The Water Balloon Ticking Time Bomb
Dennis has had a series of large, watery bumps on his head for over 30 years, with the largest the size of a grapefruit. Dennis has never had the condition treated, out of fear of having surgeries, despite his wife's concerns. A quick inspection found that lumps were pilar cysts, with the largest being the biggest Dr. Lee has ever seen.
The growths were so close to bursting that Dr. Lee dubbed them a "water balloon ticking time bomb". Thankfully, due to her good bedside manner and taking time with her surgeries, Dr. Lee managed to keep Dennis calm and gave him a much easier life, a sort of kindness that makes Dr Pimple Popper one of the best TLC shows ever made.
68 Lipomas In One Woman's Arms
April came into Dr. Lee's office with unusually lumpy arms that have distressed her for many years, which advanced when she experienced puberty and later pregnancy. Dr. Lee felt multiple lipomas under the surface, but even an expert dermatologist like Dr. Lee was surprised for what surgery had in store.
The final total after surgery revealed that April had a record-breaking 68 lipomas on her arm, the most lesions Dr. Lee has ever removed from a patient. The scene of April's surgery has to be seen to be believed, as Dr. Lee and her team remove trays full of lipomas from April after an exhausting surgery.
Extreme Rhinophyma
Tony, a warm-hearted reverend, has had his spirit weighed down by increasingly large growths on his nose that block his breathing, as a side effect of taking cardiac medicine. Immediately upon seeing him, Dr. Lee diagnosed him with an extensive case of rhinophyma, which in itself is an extreme form of rosacea that presents on the nose.
Using a hot cauterizing tool, Dr. Lee managed to carve the shape of Tony's original nose while sealing the wound and removing all the growths. Thanks to Dr. Lee's expertise, Tony's rhinophyma didn't return and healing revealed that Tony's nose was good as new.