Dr. Pimple Popper (2018–…): Season 4, Episode 5 - Dr. Lee Nose Best! - full transcript

I have very large growths
on my face.

It's occluding my breathing.

Lord, we pray that you would
help us this day.

Thank you for Dr. Lee
for such skill.

That's a lot of pressure.

Close those eyes.

I've had this for 10 years.
I have become a hermit.

My girlfriend is becoming
a hermit with me,

and that's not healthy.

Kevin: This bump grew to the
size of a jawbreaker.

There's important nerves
and vessels in here



that we want
to stay away from.

There's a chance
that I can end up

only having half a smile
instead of a full smile.

I've got a lump on my leg.
I'm scared.

Shall we take
a look at this?

Oh, leave
your underwear on.

That is ready.

captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪

My name is Tony.
I'm age 55.

I'm from Clinton, Tennessee,

and I have very large growths
on my face.

They're huge nodules,
sometimes pus-filled,

and it gives off an awful smell
like rancid fish oil.



Five years ago,

I had taken medicine
for help with cardiac health,

but its side effects
were severe flushing,

and I felt things start
to happen with my nose.

It would feel like things
were bubbling,

and then these growths started
into just rapid expansion.

Doctors here in the area

were not able to give me
any solutions,

and nobody likes to be told,

"oh, you have a condition.
Good luck with that."

These nodules are becoming
so heavy

that it's occluding
my breathing,

so if I'm breathing hard,
my nose will

[inhales deeply]
Actually collapse,

and it's this position
in order to keep breathing.

I have to keep all of this open,
or I suffocate.

Another thing is
getting something

as simple
as a drink of water.

Drinking anything
that touches my nose

automatically sets me off.

My nose will not fit
inside of the glass

when it's time to drink.

It's a constant reminder,
"oh, guess what, freak.

You can't even drink
like a normal person."

What do you have for me?

Oh, we have a cart,
if you want to put it up.

Okay.

Some people are about
making a living.

Some people are
about making a difference.

I'm here to make a difference.

Currently, I'm working with
the thrift stores

to help fund
a homeless ministry.

We're trying to mend
broken lives in Jesus' name.

I want to be with people, but I
don't want people to see this.

What I can do is, I can just
kind of repack stuff,

and so I'm gonna be
taking this stuff off.

And so instead of being
on the retail floor,

I prefer to be
in the warehouse,

working on some project
by myself.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

You know, I've personally been
in a holding pattern

for my advancement helping
with the ministry downtown.

I have an opportunity,
which is a promotion

to oversee our homeless

working their way
out of their court costs,

but it's a very public job.

It requires me to interact
with probation officers,

parole officers,
judges, attorneys.

It's a very, very public job.

I can't think of anyone
more deserving.

You get a lot of anxiety

when you're out
around people, though.

Yeah.

I want to be
the public face

of this really
important work,

but if I'm bound up with
this condition and my nose,

I don't feel like
it's something that I can do.

And this is not the face
that I want to show in any way.

Tony will just go
out of his way to help you.

Tony's nose affects
more his self-image.

It doesn't really matter
to us how he looks.

Can't go to the next thing
if this puzzle isn't solved.

So I'm trapped by an awful
skin condition

that is forcing me
to either deal with this

or become
permanently reclusive.

♪

[ Indistinct talking ]

I'm blessed to be at
Dr. Lee's office this morning,

and we're going to see
if she can help me

with my crazy-looking nose.

All right,
Dr. Lee will be right in.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

If I can't get this done today,
my hopes are dimming

that I can have anything
that resembles a normal life.

Well, good morning.

Hi. It's so good
to meet you.

I'm Sandra.
It's nice to meet you.

Whoa, look at your nose!
I know.

You're looking
so lovely, too.

Oh, thank you.
Thank you.

What a dapper dresser you are.
[ Laughs ]

Well, I think we know
what you're here for.

You have rhinophyma.

Let me take
a look at you here.

Oh, it -- it's like
it's covered your nostril here.

Yeah. It's difficult
to breathe.

Yeah.

How long have you been
dealing with it?

It started
about five years ago,

when I started medicine
for its cardiac benefits.

The side effects
were horrible flushing.

Yes.

And I felt this almost,

like, bubbling
crackling in my nose.

Wow. That's scary.

Yeah, and so
I thought maybe

there's association that it
kick-started this.

And --
maybe.

Dr. Lee: People want to know
why something's happened.

Oftentimes, it's really hard
for people to accept

that there was nothing that they
could have done to prevent this.

But it's a good thing
that I do know a good amount

about Tony's condition,

but we do have to talk about
a few things before we proceed.

This looks like it's
pretty normal right here,

your tip of your nose here.

Sure.
Right?

It just kind of starts
right over here.

And these are just,
like, little grapes

hanging off
of your nose here,

so it's got me
excited for you.

I see your nose
under there.

Oh, it's fantastic.
I see it already.

But the main thing
that I'm concerned about is,

looks like you have
some maybe

Italian in you,
some darker.

Yes.
Yes.

My grandfather's from sicily.
Okay.

The darker complected
you are,

the more that you just risk
that you have a little bit

more of a scarring
that's more noticeable.

'Cause essentially,
we're taking that off,

and it's creating
little scars on the skin,

but somebody
who's really light,

the scars are the same color
as the skin.

But it might be something
that stays permanent,

so that's something you want
to seriously think about.

It's all right.

I would rather have scarring
than what I have.

Yeah.

So that being said,

I think we can do
something about this.

I'm actually very excited
for you.

I really feel like this is
going to really help you.

I'm ready to do this.

All right,
I'll be back, okay?

I'll get
some things together.

Thank you, doctor.
Of course.

Oh, my gosh.
Who brought him back?

I did.
He's so cute.

Do you see his outfit?
He's, like, so put together.

So you know he cares
about his appearance.

He has a pretty big case.

He's got, like,
grapes hanging off.

You can see them.

Like, you can see
underneath them.

All right,
let's do it, though.

I'm excited about this one.
Yeah.

Tony:
Dr. Lee is ready to jump in

and help remove these
low-hanging crazy nodules.

This is actually happening.

But, you know,
there's always a worry.

There may be complications.
You know, anything is possible.

I was wondering if we could
have a little prayer

before we started.
Absolutely.

Let me have your hand.

Thank you.

Lord, we pray that you
would help us this day.

Lord, thank you
for Dr. Lee.

We pray that you would
give her every tool

and that you would
bless her efforts,

and, lord, we are grateful
for such skill.

Amen.

Thank you.
I'm so thankful.

That's a lot of pressure.
[ Laughs ]

Dr. Lee:
The prayer was really sweet.

I mean, I just met him,
and here I am,

I'm going to be working
on his nose,

on something that is
bothering him greatly,

and so he's just wanting
to give me all the strength

that he can possibly give me,
and this is his way of doing it.

Let me just put
a little numbing

on the edge
of your nose here.

I'm a little nervous about
actually having things

sliced off my face.

Let me get this turned on.
[ Beep ]

It's a little bit off-putting,
you know.

[ Equipment whirring ]

Close those eyes.

Look. It's his nose.
You can see it.

Sometimes I have a problem
quitting once I start.

I could keep going forever.

Kevin: I would definitely like
to go out on a date,

but I've had friends
that consider my bump

to be lady deterrent.

[ Equipment whirring ]

Close those eyes.

We do the vacuum 'cause
it creates a little smoke.

Tony is here,
and he has a really

severe case of rhinophyma.

I mean, he essentially has
two grapelike balls

hanging down
from his nostrils,

so it really makes it
difficult for him to breathe,

and it's my job
to help him out.

I'm using a loop-cautery tool

to essentially burn away
all this extra skin,

and this is why val
is holding a smoke evacuator,

to vacuum away all this smoke
that's created

when we burn the skin.

Sorry. Hold on.

Normally, I use a loop
during the entire process,

but in this case, he's got
this huge growth there

and I don't need
to really sculpt that.

I just need to debulk it.

So I'm gonna change
my loop tip

to a different tip this time.

It's called a spatula tip
or a knifelike tip.

You know what?

Can you do something
for me, val?

Can you get me a blade
and, like, a blade holder?

Okay.

I feel like I want to shape
this more,

and I feel like
that's the straight blade.

I can control it more here.

It turns out that it's
a little frustrating

to use the spatula tool

because it cuts
in a different way,

and I just want
to be done with it,

so I'm gonna just switch
to the scalpel,

to cold, hard steel.

♪

All right. See?

You can already look down
and see your nose

is a different shape, right?
It's gone.

The first grape was successfully
plucked from the nose.

The scalpel was really
the best tool to do this.

But I need to be really careful
that I just remove extra skin.

And you can kind of see
where the normal nose is

because it's almost
like someone took play-doh

and just, like,
pushed it onto the nose.

Look how big
his nostrils are now.

See all your deepest thoughts.
Oh.

There's already a huge, dramatic
improvement in Tony's nose,

but this is just the beginning.

I mean, I've just taken off
those big chunks of skin.

Now is the time to change back
to the loop-cautery tool

and really sculpt this area.

This is my favorite part.

♪

♪

Look. It's his nose.
You can see it.

When I'm doing this type
of surgery, I do feel like

I'm unearthing the real nose
that has been trapped there

just like a fossil,

and here I am, an archaeologist,
just trying to, like, brush away

and preserve what's
really supposed to be there

and get rid of all the extra.

Dr. Lee: Sometimes I have a
problem quitting once I start.

I'm like, "okay, I could
keep going forever."

♪

Done. Done. Done. Done.

I can't wait
to see the grapes.

You -- yes, I'll
show you the grapes.

First look at his nose
like this for, what,

five years, I think it is.
Mm-hmm.

They're cute nostrils, too.
[ Chuckles ]

Dr. Lee: Tony's nose
is certainly unique,

and I had to work
in a more unorthodox way.

My previous experience
with rhinophyma

really came in handy here.

I'm very pleased
with the results.

Ready?
Uh-huh.

Oh, my goodness.

Just amazing.

There's my nose.

Yeah, your nostrils.
Look at those nostrils.

Tony: When I look in the mirror,
I see this normal guy,

and not this freakish blob
of a troll-like nose.

It's an amazing transformation.

I cannot believe how good
this looks.

Yeah, look at that.
Oh, my goodness.

That's the underside
of it, all that.

I bet if I squeezed,
would be some oil in there,

so it would probably snap,
crackle, and pop

if you put it on something,

not that we'd ever put it
on anything to cook.

It was shocking at how big
those things were.

When I would flare my nostrils
in the past,

there was all of this weight,
there was all of this movement.

Now, man, they're gone.

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

Good.
Thank you.

Thank you.
Give me a hug.

Oh, surely.

It's such a relief
to be transformed,

and there's, I don't think,

anything that's gonna
hold me back now.

Whatever public thing
I need to do, I'm ready.

I want to shout hallelujah,
so hallelujah.

[ Guitar playing rock music ]

♪

My name's Kevin.
I'm 30 years old.

I live in petaluma, California,

and I got this bump
that's on the side of my face.

I started noticing my bump
about six to seven years ago.

It started really shallow.

Was probably a little bit larger
than my thumbnail.

You know,
didn't stick out too much,

and you didn't really catch it

unless you were really
looking at it.

After time, it just started
developing

and grew to be a size of,
like, a jawbreaker, pretty much.

Yeah, thing's pretty firm
but still kind of squishy

and just moves around,
you know?

And it doesn't
hurt me or anything,

but it presses
against my teeth.

That's a little
weird-feeling.

Sometimes I accidentally end up

chewing on the inside
of my cheeks.

When I clench my jaw,
it looks like a pulsing lump.

[ Chuckles ]

Some things I try to do
to hide my lump.

I'll wear a beanie,
and I'll put a hoodie on,

and sometimes
I'll pull my hair down

and let my hair just kind of
drape over that side of my face.

You know, you work with it
how you can.

[ Objects clattering ]

I'll let you get that big stuff
in there first.

All right. Yeah.
Yeah.

I'm an electrician,
and I work with my dad.

He owns his own business.

I like doing this kind of work,

so I want to take over my dad's
business and let him retire.

Here, you want to take
the end of that there?

You know, that's a great
respect, honestly,

that my dad be able to have
the trust

to be able to have me
take his company over.

You know, at the same time,
I'm still bearing this burden

of being the face
of the company.

Customers on occasion ask me
about my bump, you know?

Yeah.

Really nerve-racking
for me, honestly.

You know, also, you're
concentrating on a job,

and somebody comes along
and says,

"hey, what's that thing?"

Well, now you can't concentrate
on the work anymore.

I have total faith
and confidence

that he will run
the business properly,

but it hurts me to know
that my son is feeling this pain

with this darn bump
on his face.

Hey, Kevin, got you
a little drink here.

Oh, hey, thanks.
Yeah.

Sweet.
How's it going?

Oh, coming along. Just a little
Polish and little restring.

Good. Good.

I live with my dad.

I see a little dust up here.
[ Laughs ]

And I just spend a whole
lot of time fixing guitars

because my bump
pretty much secludes me.

[ Laughs ]

I was more of
a social butterfly,

but, you know, overall,

I don't really feel
comfortable in my own skin.

Just easier not to go out.

I would definitely like
to go out on a date

or try to meet a girl out
at a bar or something like that,

but I've had friends
that consider my bump

to be lady deterrent.

Hey, mister.

I do have all this going for me.
I got, like, all these hobbies.

I'm gonna be taking my dad's
business over soon,

but I'm still kind of
missing, like,

the intimacy of having
a personal friend, you know?

I do kind of want to put myself
back in the world again.

I'm very motivated to have
this be something

that is behind me.

Honestly, the biggest reason
I'm here

is really to feel better
for myself overall.

You know, I'd like to be able
to actually go out in the world

and hang out and meet people.

Dr. Lee will be
in shortly.

Cool.
Thank you.

Biggest concern today would be
if Dr. Lee couldn't help me.

I think she can, but, you know,
we'll find out.

I'll let her tell me that.
[ Laughs ]

Kevin.
It's Kevin. Hey!

How are you?
Doing great.

Look at this hair on you!

Looking good.

Nice to see you.
Thanks.

Yes. You --

I think I can see
what you're here for.

Yep. Definitely.
You have this bump on you, huh?

How long have you had this?

Like six years, I think.

May I touch it here
for a second?

Yeah. By all means, yeah.

Were you ever able to
squeeze anything out of it?

Never, actually.
It never Rose to the surface.

Yeah, that looks like
that might be a little bit

of an annoyance
for you, huh?

Oh, yeah. Feels like I got a
jawbreaker pressing up in there.

But it could be, like,
a deal breaker kind of thing.

Oh, yeah.
I think this is a cyst.

I'm not exactly sure until
we actually try to remove it.

It feels very mobile.

It moves around really well.

So that's a good sign.

But it is on
a pretty big side here,

and there's important nerves
and vessels in here

that we want
to stay away from,

so the most important thing
for me is to beware

and not go near any nerves.

I don't want to affect
any muscles of movement

so that when you smile,
you don't want to have

one side lift up
and not the other.

There is actually
a big nerve plexus

that comes out, like,
right here in front

of our ear here.
Oh.

Along the jawline,
it's sort of like a land mine.

You need to avoid all these
little nerves and muscles

and blood vessels there
that are really important

to create movements in the face,
to have sensations in the face.

Knowledge of anatomy
is extremely important

before you do
any type of surgery.

Smile for me now.
You're pretty even.

That's good.

I'm glad to see
that Kevin's face

has not already been affected.

Well, we got a jawbreaker
that's a deal breaker,

and we're gonna turn you
into a heartbreaker.

How's that?
Hey, I like that.

We'll do that.

Okay, I'll see you in
just a little bit, okay?

Yeah, yeah.
Get yourself prepped.

I will.
[ Chuckles ]

Just a baby
pinch pinch.

Kevin: I am definitely anxious
about all this going on.

There's a chance that
if she does hit a nerve,

I can end up only having half
a smile instead of a full smile.

Those are all freaky things
that can actually happen,

but this is definitely
a risk I'm willing to take.

And let's see
what we got here.

Oh, look at you trying
to show off now.

I might have longer hair
than you.

We'll see in a sec.

Follow me.

Tony:
It's been almost eight weeks,

and this surgery
has unlocked my future.

We've got something here.

Kevin has a really large lump
on the side of his cheek.

It distorts his jawline.

It's very noticeable, but it's
also a little worrisome

to remove
something in this area.

There's a lot of important
nerves and muscles

and blood vessels,

but understandably so,
he wants to have this removed,

and so let's go for it.

I see it.
It's right there.

It's a cyst.

It turns out that Kevin
has a cyst,

and this is
an epidermoid cyst,

which really occurs
where any hair

could potentially
grow on your body,

so it's not totally unusual

that you get a cyst
like this on the jawline.

All right, let me give you
a nice big squeeze.

Squeezing your cheeks.

It's like oatmeal.

Mm.

That was one of my guesses.

Was it?
What else was your guess?

Cream of wheat.

Yeah, mix of all those.
Like cottage cheese.

Yeah, maybe that's been out
for a while,

'cause it's gotten
a little chunky.

Is it creamy color?
Is it yellow? [ Chuckles ]

You want to see?

[ Chuckles ] Yeah.
Here.

Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it's chunky.

[ Laughs ]
It's chunky.

Okay, let me see if I can
take this thing off now.

One nice little sac
in one piece would be nice.

It's really thinned
your skin on top

and kind of distorted
your little blood vessels,

so I'm just gonna try to take
out the sac and nothing else.

Got to do it gently.

All good so far.

Just trying to separate this
from your regular

fibrous tissue.

Ta-da!
[ Laughs ]

Looking good.

Even navigating the delicate
nerves of Kevin's cheek,

I was able to get
the whole sac out.

Heartbreaker,
here we come.

So now it's time to stitch up
cute little Kevin.

That jawbreaker's gone,

and I see that heartbreaker
coming out.

Look at that.

Whoa. Trippy.

It's kind of unreal
to look in the mirror

and just see myself
without the bump

that I got so grown
accustomed to seeing.

That is amazing.
That is crazy.

Now that I got
this jawbreaker out,

I'm definitely ready
to go out in the world

and try to experience a little
more social interaction.

On top of that, I'm gonna
have more confidence, as well,

when it comes down to me
taking over my dad's business.

Dr. Lee definitely changed
my life after today.

Now you don't need
your beautiful hair

to hide that side of you.

You can show that nice
chiseled jawline,

but keep your hair
'cause it is beautiful.

Oh, I don't plan on cutting it.
I'm a little jealous.

Oh, look at you trying
to show off now.

Why not? Why not?

I might have longer hair
than you.

We'll see in a sec.

I mean, I got some height,
so I need to lean down.

Oh, you're gonna have
to squat. Yes.

Who's got the longer hair?
Who's got it?

My hair is longer,

but her hair is actually nicer,
in my opinion.

[ Chuckles ]

♪

My name is Marie.

I'm from Jersey, and I have
a bump on my forehead.

I've had this for 10 years.
I had seen the dermatologist.

He said he didn't want to touch
it because of where it's at.

He didn't want to stitch it,
so he told me

I would have to go
to a plastic surgeon.

I grew my hair long to cover
the bump, but just doesn't help.

I am here with my girlfriend,
Heather,

and we met four years ago.

Heather is 30,
and I am 52,

so we're 22 years apart,
and we --

you know, my daughter is 25,
and she calls her stepmom.

[ Laughs ]

I love to ride motorcycles.
I taught Heather how to ride.

The bump on my forehead gets
in the way of the relationship

as far as taking her out
on those motorcycle runs.

Actually, I have
become a hermit.

Heather does not go out
without me.

She refuses.

She's becoming a hermit with me,
and that's not healthy.

Talk to me.
You're nervous.

I'm nervous.
I can tell.

Yeah.

Ew, I hope it's not
gross and smelly.

[ Laughs ]

Will you run out
of the room?

No.

Yes.

Maybe.

Marie?

Hello.
Hi. How are you?

If Dr. Lee can help me today,
it will change the way

my future's gonna be
with my personal relationship,

with myself, with everything.

I'm so excited with the thought
of being on a motorcycle

and actually feeling the wind
going through my scalp.

Hi.
Hi.

How are you?
I'm Sandra. Dr. Lee.

It's really nice to meet you.
Pleasure to meet you.

Hi. I'm Heather.
Hi. Nice to meet you.

I think I see what you're here
for, this bump on your head.

Yes.
How long have you had this bump?

Started in 2008.

So it's been growing
since then?

Actually, it started
growing progressively worse

the last four years.

Yeah.
Okay.

Well, let me take
a look at this

and see what
you have here, okay?

Yes.

Marie is a fun,
really outgoing person,

and, you know, her bump
is not that big

relative to the things
that we see,

but the size of a bump is not
so reflective of the stress

that it can create.

It bops around.

It's a little harder,
a little firmer,

a little tense, right?
It is. It is.

Okay, have you
ever been able

to squeeze anything
out of it or anything?

No? No, don't.
God forbid. Never.

Okay. Okay.

But is it
even a type of cyst?

Maybe it could be.

What do you think it is?

I've been told lipoma.
Okay.

I'm not exactly sure
until we try to remove it.

I think it is removable, though,
'cause it moves around.

Yay!

Well, you ready?

I am.
I'm gonna get started, okay?

All right.

Thank you for being here.

You're welcome.

I'm actually freakin' nervous
that it's anything.

I just hope it's nothing bad.

So, we're gonna
try to hide it

right in our natural creases
of our forehead.

Okay, I'm gonna put some
numbing right there.

Just a little baby pinch.

Gonna do just great.

See what we got under here.

You okay?

I think I just want
to cover my ears.

I know, but you hear it
through your head.

Oh.
Know what I mean?

If I been on concrete all day,
it'll swell up.

It really irritates my leg bad.

I worry I'm gonna get hurt
on the job or get somebody hurt.

You're gonna do just great.

See what we got under here.

I'm here with Marie
and her girlfriend, Heather.

I'm really interested in seeing
what is growing on her forehead.

She thinks that it's a lipoma,

but I'm betting
that it's a cyst.

Change my mind.

I think you have
a little lipoma here.

I think you were right.

You can see it
right there, probably.

Oh, yeah.

You okay?

I think I just want
to cover my ears.

I know, but you hear it
through your head.

Oh.
You know what I mean?

'Cause you hear it,
like, at the area.

Yeah.

Dr. Lee:
I know, when I'm working

on the scalp
or on the forehead,

that the patient
can hear the surgery,

these scratching noises,

almost like a little mouse
in the corner.

If you tap on your forehead,
you can hear something.

So imagine if you're numb there.

You can't feel that,
but you would hear that sound.

So, what do you guys like
to do for fun?

How are you gonna
celebrate this?

[ Laughs ]
We have an '06 Harley.

You're just gonna be wild
and free, lipoma-less?

It's gonna be awesome
to feel the wind in my hair.

Do you like to go helmetless?
Yes, I do.

Blowing it away
and not worry about that?

Yeah.
Looks pretty clear, huh?

Yeah, looks good.

So, how is she as a rider?

I'd rather be on the back
of the motorcycle

than in the car with her
'cause she's a better rider

than she is a driver.
[ Laughs ]

That's funny.

Done.

All right.

Holy cow.

Seeing myself with a flat
forehead is just amazing.

You look younger.

She does.
Yeah, you do look younger.

I numbed your brow.
You can see.

You can't raise
your brow now easily.

No, I can't!
Oh, my god!

I've always wanted to do
the one eyebrow!

Yes, now you can do it.

Only for a couple hours.
Only for a couple hours.

I'm gonna keep flirting.
[ Laughs ]

Thank you so much.
You're so welcome.

Take care of yourself.

Thank you.

Heather and I are gonna
rock that bike, for sure.

Dr. Lee: Ride your Harley
for me, okay?

I'm scared, but you can
ride it for me.

I'll stick with my scooter.
I'll send you a picture.

I would love that.

Marie: It's gonna be a whole
new chapter in my life.

The old is gone.

I could now have my life
with Heather.

[ Laughter ]

♪

My name is Tommy,
and I'm 53 years old,

and I've got a lump on my leg.

I used to work out in the gym
all the time,

and I was doing squats,
and I blew my leg muscle out,

I guess a rupture
of the muscle.

From that point on,
I noticed the knot,

and just throughout the years,
it's gotten bigger and bigger.

In the last four years, my lump
has grown twice its size,

and now it's to the point
to where, you know,

I can't really stick
my hand in my pocket.

You know, I got
to wear loose clothing.

Pulling up my pants,
I got to pull them out,

pull it up over it,

kind of stuff it in, you know,

and to even get my hand
in my pocket,

I got to, you know,
really work around it, you know?

It's very noticeable
through my clothing.

And my biggest concern
is how it affects me at my job.

Being a carpenter,
we do plumbing, electrical,

and I've got a double pouch,

and gets heavy
because throughout the day

you're doing
a variety of things,

and you just end up
with everything in your nail bag

that you're using for the day.

Sometimes it can weigh
up to 60, 70 pounds.

You carry it around all day
going up and down ladders

and scaffolding, you know,
it'll take its toll.

It really irritates my leg bad.

And throughout the day,
it kind of goes numb,

and then it's like my body
tries to compensate.

You know, I mean, I want to take
the weight off of this leg

and put it on my right,
which affects the way I walk.

If I been on concrete all day,
you know what I mean,

carrying it around, yeah,
it'll swell up and puffs up

probably a little -- twice the
size that it is at times.

Just slowly getting worse.
What if it don't go away?

I'm scared, you know?

How you doing today?

I'm doing all right,
I guess.

Leg bothering me
quite a bit again today.

Tool belt on it?

Yeah. You know, that extra
weight really brings it on.

I worry I'm gonna get hurt
on the job or get somebody hurt.

My fear is,
what if I'm on a roof

and I'm walking a truss
down a wall

and another guy's
on the other end

and I get a pain
and lose my balance and fall?

I could injure a lot of people.

And it's just
getting worse,

if you ain't noticed,
you know,

at the end
of the day how I limp.

Oh, I do.
I work with you every day.

I notice it.
I see it.

Darryl: He hobbles and limps.
I worry about it.

Should have seen a doctor
a long time ago, I believe.

Thad sees me limping around,
would he let me go?

I worry so much
about my performance.

My boss seen me limping,
asked me what was wrong

with my leg
because it's unsafe on a job.

You need to get it taken care of
before it's too late.

I've never seen a doctor
as far as to the lump.

I can't spend the money
because, to me,

that's taking away from the ones
that I'm being responsible for.

Come on.
Come on, Skyla.

You know, I'm a grandpa,
and my grandkids

filled a void in my life.

That's why I do what I do,
you know, is for them.

We're gonna get to play.

You know, I'm blessed.
[ Laughs ]

You know, I get to be a part
of their world,

which makes mine amazing.
[ Laughs ]

Give me kiss-kiss.
[ Smooches ]

It's really stressful
being a provider, you know?

What would we do
if I couldn't work?

I don't want my grandkids
to worry.

I want to be happy,

and this is the obstacle
that's preventing that.

♪

♪

Standing outside
Dr. Lee's office,

I'm feeling excited today.

I'm ready to get this done.

I've had to carry all this
for many a years.

You know, it's just
a tremendous weight.

Have a seat.
Dr. Lee will be right in.

Thank you, guys.
You're welcome.

I want to be normal again,
you know?

I don't want to feel
these feelings anymore,

and I hope today
I don't have to.

[ Chuckles ]

Hello. Are you Tommy?
Yes, I am. How are you?

Dr. Lee.
Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.
Welcome.

Well, thank you.

What can I do for you?

Well, I've got this lump
on my leg.

How long
have you had that?

About 12 years,
but the past couple,

it's really took off
in growth.

It hurts.
Okay.

It really causes me
a lot of discomfort

throughout the day.

I work construction,

and, you know,
it's real physical,

and it kind of
feels like pressure.

Okay.

Let me take a look
and see what you have here.

I've had a number
of patients in the past

who, like Tommy,
work in manual labor,

and that can be, really,
a difficult job to have

when you have
a big bump on you

because if you're
leaning up on things,

you're in tight quarters,
you're moving around a lot,

a big bump that's not
supposed to be there

really gets in your way.

How shall we take
a look at this?

Oh, leave your underwear on.
You can leave it.

Oh, you can pull it up.
Okay, got it.

Where I come from, we don't
wear underwear that often.

[ Laughs ]

I think that kind of
caught her off guard.

Dr. Lee:
Tommy with his quick movements
gave me a little scare.

I just don't like when people
drop trou in front of me.

Tommy, you really should
wear underwear.

[ Laughs ]

So, anyway, it looks like a
nevus lipomatosus superficialis.

Makes me sound smart, I know,
but it just means, like,

a little area
of fat pooching up,

a little herniation,
you know, sticking out,

but now it didn't have
anywhere else to go.

It can't stick out anymore.

Started to grow, like,
a little bit more underneath,

a deeper layer.

And I don't know if it had
anything to do with it,

but I used to work out
in the gym a lot,

and I was doing squats,
and I blew my leg out.

Shortly after that's
when this started.

I see. I see.

Because of the bumpiness

and how this is kind of
poking out of his skin,

it looks like this could be a
nevus lipomatosus superficialis,

which is where fat cells
are higher up in the skin,

and so they kind of
almost look like

they're popping
out of the skin.

Why don't you leave a part of
yourself in California with us?

Well, I'd love to.
Yes.

Well, make sure you're
nice and comfortable,

and I'll see you
in a little bit.

Dr. Lee tells me that she's
gonna remove my lump today,

and that's got me
really excited.

You know, I'm looking forward
to getting this started.

Sexy legs contest,
here we come.

I'm not worried about scars,
you know?

I got mental scars.
That's the worst part of it.

Okay.

Let's see what you got
under here, huh?

And it's a lipoma.

So, this is not a
nevus lipomatosus superficialis.

I was wrong.
Everything's out the window.

See, he's in this little sac
right here,

and I got to find a way
to ease him out of there.

Oh, I think that this is stuck
to the surface of your skin.

What do I do there?

Okay.

Let's see what you got
under here, huh?

And it's a lipoma.

Look. That is ready.

Tommy is here with this lump
on his anterior thigh.

I'm surprised that this
is a lipoma

and not a
nevus lipomatosus superficialis,

which means that
I have to approach

this whole surgery
a little differently.

Because it's a lipoma,
this will mean

that I can hopefully
pop this out whole.

Okay, maybe
a little squeeze.

♪

This is crazy.

You know, sometimes you'll
see them pop right out

'cause they're not
in these bands,

but yours has
a little bit...

A little bit
of something.

You feel it kind of
pushing out, releasing, huh?

You know, if you look at it
right now,

how do you tell
the difference between

this and your regular fat?

It's kind of hard.

To people watching the surgery,
it looks like this fat

is like any other kind of fat,
but it feels different.

You can feel this foreign object
under the skin,

and if you give it enough
good pressure around all sides,

it usually can
squeeze out entirely.

See, he's in this little sac
right here,

and I got to find a way
to ease him out of there,

or else he's stuck to you.

I'm gonna just take him off
and then just take a look

and see
what might be still left.

You can put that
on the table for me.

This, I think, is still
a little bit of it.

Remember that part
that was herniating out?

It's right there.

But what do I do there?

Because I think that this is
stuck to the surface

of your skin, almost.

If I try to
just take it off,

your skin's gonna be
really thin there,

and that's gonna affect

the healing, like,
the appearance of it.

I'm almost done with
Tommy's surgery,

but there's a little bit
of lipoma left,

and it's kind of stuck
on the undersurface of the skin.

That is gonna be so tough to
separate from his normal tissue.

If I leave any of it there,

there's a risk
that it can grow back,

so do I go after
this last little sliver

and maybe make the area not look
as good and not heal as well,

or do I leave it there and hope
that it doesn't grow back?

This is a tough decision
for me to make.

Actually, think I'm gonna
cut that skin off,

actually remove that
entirely.

♪

♪

Now, because I took out
a little extra skin,

there's a little
more tightness there.

You know, it's not a lot.

You've stretched out anyways
because of the lipoma.

Dr. Lee: The best solution
was just cut that tissue off

because I know that this lipoma
stretched the skin in the area,

so why not just remove
that extra tissue anyway

and make this area
nice and flat?

I made a decision that has a lot
to just do with your experience

and how you know the skin moves
and the skin heals.

Doing this for years,
it becomes second nature.

You ready to see?
Yeah.

See? That's --
there's your leg again.

There's just swelling there
right now

because of the numbing.

See? There's nothing there.
There's nothing there.

[ Laughs ]
Looks good.

It does.

Yeah, very good.
I thank you so much.

Oh, you're so welcome.

Tommy: I feel a tremendous
amount of relief,

just like a ton's
been lifted off of me.

Oh, wow.
Yeah.

That's way heavier
than I thought it was.

Uh-huh.

I think everything's
gonna change now.

My self-esteem, it was here,
and, bam, I already feel it.

It's there.

Okay?
You're amazing.

You really are.
Bye-bye.

Thank you.
Take care, okay?

I'm ready to move forward
in my life, you know?

Words can't describe how I feel
about Dr. Lee.

She is amazing.

That was a fun case, wasn't it?
He was really cute.

He's that patient that we see
that is okay

with just dropping trou
right in the middle

of the office
when he shows me something,

but, you know,
people are like that,

and anyway, he had really
sexy legs, so, you know, hey.

He did have
really nice legs.

Now they're even sexier.
Yeah.

Once that lipoma came out,
I was like, "hey, all right!"

That's right.
They looked pretty good.

They were, like, muscular.

When he flexed,
you're like, "dang."

Yeah, it was --
sexy leg contest, isn't it?

Let's think about
the exercises we can do

to get sexy legs like that

while I sit down
and have a cookie.

Dr. Lee: It's been three months
since Tommy had his surgery.

He looks fantastic.

He's experiencing
no discomfort at all.

He's back at work, and he
can provide for his family.

I just hope he's wearing
underwear now.

Kevin: It's been three weeks

since getting my surgery
at Dr. Lee's.

My jaw feels like it's been
healing pretty well, actually.

No slouched smile or anything.
[ Laughs ]

Every now and then,
I kind of forget

that my jawbreaker's gone.

I'll go and, like, put my hand
on my face.

I'm like, "oh, yeah, it's flat."

Confidence is a big part
of running a business.

Now I am looking forward
to someday being able

to take care of
my dad's business on my own.

Want to flip the switch?

Awesome.
Thank you, Kevin.

Hey, yeah. No worries.

Cool. Yeah. Right on.

I've done ceiling fans,
so, you know...

I'm excited to go and try
to get out there

and do the whole
dating scene.

[ Laughs ] Yeah. I could
certainly do that.

Jawbreaker to heartbreaker,

let's see
if I can pull that off.

Hope I can pull off
heartbreaker.

[ Laughs ]

Tony: You want to go out?
Let's go for a walk.

Here we go.

It's been almost eight weeks
since I've seen Dr. Lee,

and this surgery
has unlocked my future.

I have
unrestrained breathing,

and I have gained
more confidence,

and I'm looking forward
to a new chapter and a career.

Woman: Excuse me, sir.

Could you tell me
where the sofa pillows are at?

Oh, sofa pillows.

Follow me.
Gonna go this way.

At work, I can enjoy
interacting with people

and not hiding
in the warehouse.

That is a list of projects
that just occurred to me.

I've got some meetings
to set up.

And now I can do anything
to help the homeless effort.

That's in my future.

It's just this incredible gift
from god.

Dr. Lee is a champion
in my life,

and I am just unleashed.

It's awesome.