Dr. Pimple Popper (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - Popping Popeye - full transcript
Lisa has a horn growing out of the back of her head and fears that it could be cancer. Victor has a bulbous lump on the middle of his chest. Chuck has a Popeye-shaped bump on his arm. ...
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I have a lump.
We're definitely going to need
splash screens.
We're going to need
our protection ready here.
Now, do you have
the some kind of thing?
Yeah.
I think it's strange that
one brother has a lump
and the other one has a lump.
Woman:
The growth makes me feel gross.
Who has, like, a horn growing
out of their head?
People don't come and see me
and then start crying.
Man: Over the last 10 years,
it's been growing out of control
like a snowball.
Dr. Lee: This is going to be
a terror to remove.
Oh, man, is it a fight.
♪♪
My name is Lisa,
I'm 43 years old,
and I have
a horn on the back of my head.
♪♪
My growth started probably
about a year ago.
It grows every day.
It gets bigger.
It's painful at times.
It has a ring that it grows
out of that is very tender.
It's a horn.
It's basically...
You'd see a rhinoceros.
It's a hard horn.
♪♪
I don't want anybody to see it,
so I wear my hair up,
pretty much
tuck it under my hair.
If I hit it, it hurts a lot.
At work, we have racks,
and I'll have to duck under them
so when I come back out,
I, you know, have to make sure
I don't hit my head on them
because it causes a lot of pain.
The growth makes me feel gross.
Who has, like, a horn
growing out of their head?
♪♪
So how was your day?
It was okay.
Yeah?
I have been engaged
to my fiance for 5 years.
He's been asking,
"oh, when are we going to
get married and set a date?"
And I put it off because I want
to, you know,
look pretty on my wedding day.
Usually when you get married
you're standing in front
of everybody
with your back to them.
That's the first thing
I think they're going to see.
Are you going to get
that thing taken care of?
I'm going to try.
Yeah?
I hope she can...
I can get it taken care of soon.
Don't worry about it.
You're perfect no matter
what, so...
Okay.
I think what's holding her back
is just that
she can't do her hair.
I see an embarrassment from her,
that she doesn't want to go out
in public with her hair down.
Come on, Jax.
Come on.
Lisa:
I worry what it could be.
[ Sniffling ]
My worst fear
is that it is cancer.
My grandmother died of cancer.
My father's sister died
of cancer.
She was right around my age.
Probably time
I should get it checked.
I have not been to a doctor
about it.
I don't have insurance,
so that's the main reason.
I don't really like doctors
either,
but it's not going to go
away on its own,
so I figure it's time
to get it taken care of.
♪♪
Yeah.
Oh, sure.
How are we with booking out on
moles and everything like that?
Are we pretty far out?
How far is it right now,
actually?
Looks like we are in August
as of right now.
In August?
Yeah.
Lisa: I'm feeling a little
nervous, anxious.
I think if Dr. Lee
can't help me,
I don't think anybody
would be able to,
and I think that if it's cancer
and I waited too long
to get it looked at,
I'm scared to leave
my daughter alone.
♪♪
Hi! How are you?
Hi.
Good, how are you?
I'm Sandra.
It's nice to meet you.
What's going on?
People don't come and see me
and then start crying.
Honey.
Just a lot of emotion.
Okay.
All right.
We're just here
to talk right now
and see what's going on
with you, right?
Can you tell me
a little bit about it?
I have a horn growing
out of my head.
Okay.
All right.
How long has that been going on?
A little over a year.
My family suffers from...
We get these other cysts
on our head.
I have a couple
of small ones here.
Oh, okay.
I have one right here.
Okay.
Yeah, yes, okay.
And then there's
another one down...
And I had one, and it broke,
and of course
I squeezed it.
Uh-huh.
It came to a point where
I couldn't squeeze it anymore,
and then this started growing.
Okay.
That's called a Pilar cyst.
Well, my mother
used to call them wens.
Yes. She's actually right,
wens, w-e-n.
That is a way --
another term we use
for those on your head.
Right.
A wen is just another term
for a Pilar cyst.
Just like a mole is also
called a nevus,
or a skin tag is also called
an acrochordon,
or a wart is also
called a verruca.
All right.
Should I take a look at it?
I'm very interested in seeing
what this bump looks like now.
But the way that she
describes her wen,
it doesn't sound like any Pilar
cyst that I've seen before.
Yeah.
It's like you have a fingernail
that's gone crazy
over here, huh?
Yes.
We call that usually
a cutaneous horn
when we see
something like that.
That, like, ring around
it is super sore.
Right.
And I can see how that's tender
because it's really
stretching your skin there.
Let me take a little photo of it
right now actually too.
I mean, I've seen
cutaneous horns before.
I mean, but certainly this is
the largest cutaneous horn
that I've ever seen.
Girl, we got to get rid
of that thing for you.
All right?
One of the things that I'm
certainly thinking about
with Lisa here
is skin cancer
because one type
of squamous cell carcinoma
called a keratoacanthoma
can look like this.
I'm not exactly sure
what it is.
I feel like you've given me
a story here
that sounds like it
could be a Pilar cyst,
and it has grown
out of control.
This is the angriest
Pilar cyst I've ever seen
if that's the case.
Because usually when we see
a cutaneous horn,
we do think of other things
that might be
a little bit more
concerning,
you know, that can happen
with types of skin cancers.
♪♪
One big swift knock
from your dog
and I think you would have
had this thing on the floor.
The lump is named Larry,
Larry the lump.
Yeah, you do have a little
Larry there.
Let's get started and make sure
you're nice and comfortable.
All right? Do you have
any questions at all?
Nope.
Lisa came in to see me
because of this horn growing out
of the back of her head.
I don't know
whether it's benign.
I don't know whether
it's malignant.
I'm hoping to figure out soon.
Come here.
Come here and see.
The only thing, and I want
to make sure we rule out,
of course, is, like,
a skin cancer,
like a squamous
cell carcinoma.
Yeah.
So let's try to set her up for,
like, a closure,
but we'll send
a part of it out.
♪♪
I'm going to try to excise
this cutaneous horn.
If something weird is going
on underneath there,
I might have
to change my plan.
We're going to see.
All right.
So you make sure we're not
hurting you at all.
There's a little worry
in the back of my mind
that it could be cancerous.
Dr. Lee: I'm just going to pull
on this and see.
Okay?
You guys ready?
♪♪
Yeah, one big, swift knock
from your dog,
and I think you would have
had this thing on the floor.
♪♪
♪♪
It's gone.
I mean, it looks like Pilar
cyst contents underneath,
but things can mimic that,
so I'm just going to try
to take all that off.
♪♪
♪♪
Just need to take that off.
Now, that's the skin we're going
to check to make sure
there's no thing that we're,
like, really concerned about.
Okay.
Sorry, a little tightness there.
I am happy to tell you
that it looks like
we pulled together
your skin very nicely there.
Okay, you want to see
your little friend here?
I do.
You do?
It's almost like a mitten.
It's crazy.
So that, even if it was
a skin cancer or a Pilar cyst,
this is all, like,
wet skin cells.
So as it's emerging out,
it was drying up
and getting hard like that.
Right.
Can you get me that metal
top for that tray?
Listen to this --
[ Tapping ]
So I'm going to send
that piece in,
and I'm going to send
some of the regular skin, too.
To see the horn that I've had
on the back of my head
for over a year sitting
in front of me feels unreal
that it's finally gone.
Dr. Lee: Oh, looking good.
That's good.
Right?
So I need to have a serious
talk with Lisa.
These conversations can be
challenging,
but they're important.
So we took that off.
It looks a lot
like a Pilar cyst,
but the other thing
that we really think about
is squamous cell carcinoma,
which is a type of skin cancer
that can grow in this area,
and it can have
this cutaneous horn.
That's what we tend to see.
So there is a chance we might
have to go in there
and remove more just to make
sure if there's a cancer there.
Okay?
It was so nice to meet you.
You too.
Thank you.
I'm glad, and no more tears,
so that's good.
Thank you.
She said that it
could be cancer.
I'm anxious to come back
to get my results.
It's gone.
Now, you know, we'll take
the rest as it comes.
♪♪
So, I'm Victor.
I'm 37 years old,
and I have a lump.
♪♪
This lump started
the last few years.
When I got off work one day,
I feel this tingling
on my chest,
and it's just like a pimple,
and I mash it, like,
and a massive amount
of stuff comes out.
Over the next couple of days,
it just healed
like any scab would,
and over the years, it just got
bigger and bigger and bigger.
I have three children, so it's,
like, a knob.
You know, they want to use it
to pull up on and play
with it like it's a joystick.
My daughter likes to lay on me
watching TV shows and so forth.
They basically use me
as a jungle gym,
and then this thing is there.
I've named this lump.
The lump is named Larry,
Larry the lump lump,
and Larry needs
to get out the way.
Dr. Lee is going to be in
in just a moment.
Okay?
Awesome.
So I am kind of nervous
right now
because it is on my chest,
you know,
so there's a lot of things
going on in this area
as far as your body.
You know, hopefully we don't
have any problems today,
so we're going to keep fingers
crossed and hope for the best.
Okay.
I hear we've got
another patient today.
We do.
Who's this?
His name is Victor.
Okay.
He has a bump on his chest.
Okay.
A bump on his chest.
All right.
And he wants me to pop it
I suppose, right?
Yes.
That's what we do here.
I'm going to go say
hello to him.
Okay.
Knock knock.
I hear there's a Victor in here.
Are you Victor?
Hi, I am Victor.
Nice to meet you.
Good to meet you.
I'm Sandra.
Yes, Dr. Lee.
Please have a seat.
So I have a little problem,
Larry.
You might be able
to help me out with that.
Who is Larry, or what is Larry?
So Larry is here.
Okay.
Close to your chest?
Yes.
Close to my heart.
Close to your heart.
Yes.
All right.
So I think
I'm mentally prepared.
Okay?
I'm going to take a look
at Larry for you.
Dun dun dun!
You need some Larry music.
Yeah, I know, right?
Maybe we'll get some.
♪♪
Oh, yeah, you do have a little
Larry there.
Yeah.
May I touch Larry's head,
Larry's...
Yes.
Yes? Okay.
In general,
this is called a tumor.
It doesn't mean
that it's life-threatening.
It doesn't mean
that it's dangerous.
It just means a growth
on the skin.
You know, I know you're probably
really concerned where it is
because it's right
in the middle of our chest.
We know we have a lot
of important organs under here,
but we have ribs under there,
and that is protecting our heart
and our lungs from me
getting anywhere near it.
Yeah.
When I'm removing something
of this size,
I'm not taking
my sharp scissors.
I'm probing straight down deep.
I'm slowly using curved,
blunt scissors
and trying to get underneath
this sort of growth
without a traumatizing
anything deeper.
I only want to go as deep
as I need to.
Okay, people.
We got Victor here.
He's got, like,
a pretty big cyst.
I think it's a cyst,
and it looks like
it's literally
hatching from his body.
I think it's a cyst.
If it's spiders, I'm out.
I'm out, too.
I'm out of the room.
You guys are going to have to
finish it up,
so let's get started with that.
I think that we're just going to
use regular surgical kit with,
you know, three and four.
Make sure you wear
your splash masks,
and we should be set. Okay?
Okay.
All right.
Got it.
Victor: So we don't know
what's in there,
but I expect Dr. Lee
to come in fully suited with,
like, a biohazard suit and mask
and helmet and hot gloves
and, you know,
all kinds of equipment.
- Hello.
- Okay.
Woo.
Getting all my gear on.
You're scaring me.
Oh, I'm sure I'm not
really scaring you.
I'm ready to cut Larry
out of the picture.
Yes, let's get her done.
Okay, just a little baby pinch,
okay, baby pinch.
You okay?
Yes, ma'am.
Okay.
Oh, that's just
your splash screen.
Here, let me show you
how to use this.
I'm giving Victor a splash mask
because you never know
how a cyst will act.
I've had cysts squirt and hit me
really close to my eye.
If I had my mouth open,
maybe hit me in the mouth.
That's why I wear
splash masks now.
That's why I should have
invested back
in splash masks way
back in the day
because I'm going
through them like candy.
Okay, you shouldn't
feel anything
other than us touching you.
All right?
Okay.
Okay.
♪♪
That is so nasty.
Larry was, like,
the devil's creamsicle.
Having this thing is just
an added safety issue.
Sheet metal is extremely sharp.
Everything around you
will kill you.
♪♪
Okay, you shouldn't
feel anything
other than us touching you.
All right?
Victor: Okay.
Okay.
Victor is here today,
and he brought his friend,
Larry, who lives on his chest.
So I'm really looking forward
to seeing
what Larry
is really made of there.
♪♪
I'm right on top of Larry.
You okay?
Mm-hmm.
Good.
It is a cyst,
absolutely a cyst.
Larry is like a little lava
right here.
I'm going to squeeze him out
a little bit, okay?
Ooh.
Larry is like mud.
Okay. Ready?
We're going to squeeze again,
so make sure I'm not
hurting you too bad, okay?
Okay.
Got it.
When I squeeze it initially,
it came out in two
different directions,
and that's because
there were two little cuts
in the cyst wall.
♪♪
This reminds me of that
"beauty and the beast"...
Do you know the line
I'm thinking of?
No?
"Try the gray stuff.
It's delicious."
Oh, my god.
You okay?
Yeah.
Okay.
I'm just going to push
a little bit more,
just a little bit more.
It's like two fangs.
Larry has got two fangs.
You know, I think that cyst
colors are different
because of our pigment
in our skin,
you and I have
a little more pigment,
so we can tend to get ones
that are more darker colored.
I think a person who is
really light complected
probably won't as
likely get a little dark one.
And I'm going to try to get
that sac wall out of there...
Okay.
...At this point.
I'm working really hard
to get the sac out
because it's really
kind of adherent.
It's stuck there to his chest.
Victor is really easy going.
He doesn't seem to be
too bothered by this,
so that makes things
a lot easier.
We got it out.
All right.
Let's put a stitch in there.
I'll fix you up.
It was a good pop.
That was a good pop.
♪♪
Wow.
Okay?
So this is just brown,
which will lighten over time.
Yeah?
It'll take time.
Keep it out of the sun.
That's awesome.
Larry the loser has left
the facilities.
Hopefully he's gone on
to the afterlife.
R.i.p., Larry.
Okay.
You ready for Larry?
Because he was a messy one.
Oh, my god.
Yeah.
All this squeezed out of him.
It's just wet, mashed-up
skin cells.
Oh, my god.
It's got chunks in it.
That is so nasty.
Larry was like
the devil's creamsicle.
I'll give you a moment
to say goodbye.
Okay.
I'll give you a moment alone.
Is there going to be, like,
sappy music now and...
Yeah.
You can cry.
You can shed a tear for Larry.
Okay?
Thank you.
You're so welcome.
You're awesome.
You too.
Now I can go back home
and let my daughter Maya
lay on my chest in peace.
See you, Larry.
Larry is gone.
♪ Larry is gone ♪
So I'm good. Yeah.
She doing good today.
Yeah.
♪♪
♪♪
My name is Chuck Brock.
I live in costa mesa,
California, and I have a bump,
lump on my right arm.
♪♪
♪♪
When I was about 18, 19,
I noticed a small bump,
maybe the size of a marble,
under the skin.
Thought nothing of it,
and then it's just gotten
larger and larger.
Over the last 10 years,
it's been growing out of control
like a snowball.
I'll be like a popeye
from one side.
I'm self-conscious about it.
Try to cover it up.
I don't know want the bump
to be the conversation
every time
I come into the room,
just having to explain
something that's wrong with you.
See, this one gets in there,
I can get this cleaned out.
This one, it just doesn't...
There's no way.
I mean, there's literally no way
I can get my arm in there.
It's constantly in the way
at work.
Sheet metal is extremely sharp.
Everything around you
will kill you.
Having this thing is just
an added safety issue.
I try not to bump it
and try not to stab it,
try not to squish it.
I don't know want to be
the weak link in the chain.
♪♪
It's come to the point where
the boss, he wants it gone.
Okay, so, yeah, just,
le's get this over.
Man: It's hanging out there.
It's flopping around.
You know, he can't reach...
Like, if he's trying
to fix something, he's trying
to reach into something type,
it becomes a problem.
No doubt about it.
Chuck is
the face of your company,
because he's making deliveries,
and when they see Chuck
and he's got this big bump
on his arm,
and people want to say things,
and it's definitely
annoying, you know.
There we go.
Oh, thank you, dear.
Okay.
Woman: When I first met Chuck,
the growth was probably
size of a quarter.
It didn't seem like it grew
that fast at first,
but then it was like,
one day, "wow,
there's a,
you know, pumpkin on your arm."
When people make comments,
he'll just kind of roll his eyes
and say, "whatever."
He says it doesn't bother him,
but it does.
That thing has been growing
on you since I've known you.
You can't ignore it anymore,
and you can't let it
grow another 30 years.
Well, I worry that that bump
is either going to kill him
or leave him disabled.
I think he's playing with fire.
He should have been trying
to take care of it years ago.
We both know that you're really
scared to get it cut open.
Yeah.
What you don't know
won't hurt you, right?
You know, what if I find out
it's something really,
really bad?
So never had it checked out
until now.
Dr. Lee seems very caring.
I think I'll be in good hands.
♪♪
I'm nervous.
You know, I'm not
used to doctors.
Follow me.
I just want to get it cut,
get it popped,
get it gone so I can
just go on about my life.
♪♪
Hi.
Hi.
How are you?
I'm Sandra.
Hi. Chuck.
It's nice to meet you.
Welcome.
What do you got here?
I can I already see it.
You got something on your arm.
It's like a popeye muscle,
isn't it?
Let me take a look at it
if you don't mind.
It's freely mobile on your skin.
That's a good sign, you know,
that it's above, like,
muscle and anything kind of
really important under there.
Oh, I do think this is a lipoma,
but I guess you can't be
absolutely certain.
I've been tricked before.
Something of this size
has been a cyst.
Really?
Yes, yes.
My main concern is sometimes
they pop out,
and sometimes I got
to fight with them,
so hopefully you're not
going to give us a fight, right?
Yeah, I'm not giving you
a fight.
It might, but...
If this is a lipoma,
I certainly hope that it will
come out in one nice pop
because if it doesn't,
it's a little harder
to wrestle with it,
and I want to make sure
I get it out completely.
Okay.
So you're ready?
Oh, I'm good to go.
Okay.
All right, I'll see you in
a little bit, okay?
Okay.
The doctor said that the way
it jiggles,
it's probably on top
of that the muscle
so hopefully it would be
a one single popper.
I bet you he'll be excited
to get rid of this.
I'll tell you that.
Well, yeah, I'm not
going to be the only one.
I'll get my old lady
off my back, boss of my back.
That's what I'm
looking forward to,
getting this thing gone
and moving on.
All right.
We're ready to boogie.
♪♪
Here we go.
♪♪
So I guess it's definitely
not a blackhead, right?
No.
It's kind of stuck in you
a little bit.
Definitely multilobulated.
This is a lipoma, but it's
a multilobulated lipoma,
and that means it has
multiple fingers that burrow
and get wedged in the skin
between normal tissue.
I don't think he's going to
come off in one full piece.
This is going to be
a terror to remove.
Come on.
I want to get to the bottom
of it before I cut it.
Come on.
Oh, man, is it a fight!
Come on.
I see the lipoma.
I'm going to give it
a little squeeze though here.
Oh, here it is!
♪♪
Come on.
I want to get to the bottom
f it before I cut it.
Chuck has a popeye-like lipoma
on his upper arm.
It's a multilobulated lipoma,
and that means it has
multiple fingers
that burrow and get wedged.
It has grown
for the last 30 years.
It's found every little nook
and cranny under the skin,
and it's going to be like
arm wrestling with this lipoma.
Come on.
Little tugs.
That's all I need.
♪♪
That was a good chunk.
I got part of it out.
I'm just trying to get
the rest of it.
I'm having to pull out this
lipoma piece by small piece.
Find the secret release here.
Come on!
[ Sighs ]
I just got it right here!
It's right there!
[ Groans ]
♪♪
I had to be really meticulous
when I remove
a lipoma like Chuck's.
It's sort of like you have
to feel with your fingers
the different little caverns
that are under there,
and you just have to do
this blindly.
Is there anything I can do?
No, just think
expunging thoughts.
I'm hearing noises,
and I'm feeling tugs.
I try not to think negatively.
I try to think positively.
I'm just hoping that nothing is
getting damaged in the fight.
Dr. Lee:
I got a good one here.
Phew.
That was a good chunk.
That made me feel better.
I need to make sure that I get
every last piece that I can find
because if I leave
any part of this lipoma there,
there's a chance
that it can grow back
goddang it.
Okay. I think we're going to
stitch you up.
Finally the lipoma is all out.
Let me tell you,
Chuck was a trooper,
and it would have been nice
for both of us
if it would have been
a nice, clean pop,
but that just wasn't the case.
You know, that's the tough thing
about this.
It's like, I try to guess
as much as I can
how it's going to be,
if it's going to pop out or not.
Yeah, it's like that box
of chocolates thing, right?
Yes, it is.
Lipomas are like a box
of chocolates.
Look at that.
Holy moly!
That looks good.
Yeah!
That's not coming back.
Shoot!
I haven't seen it skinny
like that in forever.
When I saw my arm
for the first time,
it was actually very surprising
to see it so flat.
I haven't seen that
since I was a teenager.
It feels great
let me see the pile.
Holy moly!
Look at that thing.
My old lady is going
to be happy.
Your lady is going to be happy?
Yes.
Aw.
Chuck looks really great
after surgery.
His arms match up
really well now.
If anything, his right arm
is probably
a little bit more muscular
because it's been carrying
around this lipoma for so long.
Thank you.
It's so nice to meet you.
You did well.
You did awesome.
You did awesome.
You did a great a job.
All I did was lay there.
It was a little bit of a fight.
It wasn't giving up easy,
but she won.
I'll leave you alone to say
goodbye.
We're done.
Okay.
Dr. Lee is the best.
I put my faith in her,
and she pulled it off.
♪♪
That last surgery, it looked
like a bicep,
this huge bicep on the arm,
it makes me feel
a little guilty.
I think I need to go to the gym.
I think you need to go
to the gym with me.
Yeah, we got to, like,
pump up your bicep a little bit.
Hey, I'm not going to the gym,
but if you're going
to the gym...
You're going to go the gym?
Yeah... maybe.
Yeah, maybe.
You're going to come with me
though, right?
No. No.
I'll just lunge.
I'll lunge to the gym.
♪♪
- Who is winning?
- Oh, it's tie.
Christian just got ranned over
by a ball.
Ranned?
Or rammed.
I have two teenage boys.
Jonathan is 16 years old,
and Christian
is 15 years old.
Four years ago, we noticed
a bump on Jonathan's side.
It's about 2 inches, an inch,
and it hasn't grown at all,
but I do worry about it.
He was seen by the doctor,
and he said that it was
just fatty tissue,
and that it wouldn't
affect them in any way.
I mean, I had a doctor there
telling me that it was fine,
so I didn't think anything
much of it after that.
This is the lump on my back.
Woman: When I first noticed
my other son,
Christian's bump,
it was about 3 inches wide.
Christian: It feels weird.
It feels like there's
a hard thing in the middle.
Woman: I was sure that if we
went to the doctor
the doctor was going to say,
"oh, it's just fatty tissue."
So we never visited the doctor
for Christian.
It's a lot bigger than I thought
because normally
I can only see the side.
Woman:
But in Christian's case,
his lump is growing
at a faster pace.
It's doubled in size
within the past couple of years.
Christian: I wear a sweatshirt
every day
because it covers my lump.
I get embarrassed when people
notice it,
so I try to hide my lump
whenever I go to the beach
or to the pool
or when it's hot.
Woman: With regards to getting
them removed,
I will try to convince
both of them to get it done.
I mean, Christian is on board
already.
The one that I have to talk to
a little bit more
would be Jonathan.
Having to try to convince him
to do something
that's going to ultimately
be of benefit for them,
it's stressful.
I want you guys to go see
Dr. Lee
because I am concerned
about the bumps.
I'm fine with the lump.
Like, it doesn't bother me.
I kind of do feel like I don't
want my lump to be removed
because I'm just scared of maybe
getting hurt from the surgery.
I'm pretty sure it won't hurt.
They'll give you
local anesthesia
so that you guys
won't have any pain.
If she needs to surgically
remove them,
it'll be for the greater
good of your health.
♪♪
♪♪
I think all our kids are about
the same age, right?
Mine are 13 and 12,
you got 12 and 11.
And yours are a little bit
younger.
Nine and 11.
Nine and 11 -- you're, like,
kind of in the middle.
Like, your kids let you, like,
put your arm around you
while you're out in public.
My other one won't.
My oldest one won't.
He's like, "don't do that.
That's embarrassing."
I try to grab his hand.
He's like, "what are you doing?"
♪♪
In my mind,
Jonathan doesn't have a choice
to getting his lipoma removed.
It is his body, but it's going
to be for his benefit.
Good morning.
Morning.
We're going to be
down this hall here.
Most likely I think my mom
will force Jonathan
to get the surgery done
whether he wants to or not.
Nope.
Make yourselves comfortable.
Dr. Lee is going to be
in very shortly.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I think you should calm down
and just get it done with
because it'll be faster
to get it done
with than to try
to neglect it.
Easier said than done.
Hello.
Hi, Dr. Lee.
Hi. How are you?
I'm Sandra.
Nice to meet you.
Edith.
It's very much nice to meet you.
This I Christian,
and this Jonathan.
Hi, Christian.
And you're Jonathan?
Yeah.
Hi.
Nice to meet you guys all.
This is a little party here,
huh, I see?
So what brings you here?
So Christian has some...
I just have...
A bump on his side here.
Okay.
And wanted to see
if you can remove it.
How long has he had this bump?
For a couple of years.
And does it hurt you at all
or is it just more like
it's annoying,
kind of embarrassing?
Kind of annoying
and embarrassing.
Okay. Now, do you have
the same kind of thing?
Yeah.
You have one too?
Is yours as big,
or is his bigger?
His is bigger.
His is bigger?
But he's younger than you are.
What the heck?
I think it's strange that
one brother has a lump
and the other one
has a lump, too, on their back.
I mean, is there some sort of
genetic propensity for this?
Hopefully the bumps on these
two boys' backs are benign.
I don't know really exactly
what they are.
I won't know
until I examine them.
♪♪
It kind of feels like a lipoma.
It is pretty soft here.
To have a lipoma like this
on a young man is believable.
I mean, he's young.
It's not really big.
If it were really big
on a young man,
I would be
more concerned with it.
It's kind of a little weird
that they both have one.
Can I see yours too?
Would that be okay?
Yeah.
Yours is a lot smaller?
After examining
Christian's bump,
it's pretty obvious to me
that this is a benign lipoma.
If Jonathan has a similar bump,
then that would mean that these
are both cosmetic procedures.
They are not medically
necessary to remove.
Thank you.
Sorry.
I hope I'm not going
to tickle you here.
How long have you had yours?
Not as long?
About the same?
Time frame, yeah,
more or less.
So yours is just slower
growing, huh?
Does this bump bother you?
It's pretty small.
Does it bother you?
It doesn't bother you.
Well, these are benign growths.
They can be removed,
but it's really important to me
when you're under 18 that,
you know, you are okay with this
because it's technically
an elective kind of procedure.
It's not something
that you have to do.
It's all about control, too.
You know, I think I've seen
a lot patients
who are 50, 60,
and they'll go,
"oh, my mom made me
do this back then.
I hate doctors,
and I can't stand,"
you know, they cringe if I even
come at them with anything,
so it's totally up
to you guys to decide this.
What do you think?
Do you think you want
to take it off?
I don't think it's bad to take
it off or anything.
Yeah, take it off.
Yeah?
Okay.
I have a feeling you might want
your younger brother
to go first.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right. We'll do that.
Is that okay with you?
Yeah.
Okay. All right.
I'll see you guys
in a little bit.
Okay.
As their mom, as a parent,
I would love both of them
to get it done today,
but Dr. Lee is
a medical professional,
and I respect that, and if she
wants to give them that option,
then it's okay with me.
♪♪
Okay. You shouldn't feel
anything, like I said, okay?
Just me pushing against you.
Nothing sharp or uncomfortable.
♪♪
This is the you're ever going to
have to having a baby.
Dr. Lee thinks
it could be a cancer.
I just really want to find out.
The area that I removed, we took
two different portions of it
and sent it in.
You shouldn't feel anything,
like I said, okay?
Just me pushing against you.
Nothing sharp or uncomfortable.
Jonathan and Christian
are brothers
who both have lipomas
on their body.
Their mom really wants them
to have their lipomas removed.
Christian is very interested
in doing so;
Jonathan, not so much,
so maybe Jonathan can watch me
do Christian's lipoma removal
and see how easy
and simple it is,
and maybe that might
change his mind.
Mom and brother,
you just make sure
nothing is bothering you, too.
If you're feeling like,
"ah, I can't look,"
you look away,
or certainly you tell us, okay?
This is the closest you're ever
going to have to having a baby.
I see the lipoma.
I'm just kind of trying
to disconnect it
from the regular fibrous bands
we have in our back.
I'm going to give it
a little squeeze out here.
♪♪
Ugh...
Christian looks like he's got
a textbook lipoma on his back.
It is a little stuck to him,
so I do need to detach
these fibrous bands
that kind of keep it
stuck to his body.
You okay over there?
I hear some noises.
Yeah, I m fine.
Just think like
it's a video game.
Okay.
You okay?
Yeah.
You got to squeeze him
a little bit.
You're doing great.
Come on. You're almost done.
He's almost out.
[ Squelching, soft laughter ]
Okay, if I'm pulling on you
underneath, you let me know.
That's pretty big!
How about you, Jonathan?
I hope it's not turning you
off of chicken
or anything like that.
Yeah, make it into
chicken nuggets
and feed it to them later.
Oh, my gosh.
Your mom's sick.
Your mom is crazy.
You're doing great.
Almost got them all.
[ Gagging ]
All right.
He's coming up here.
♪♪
[ Groans ]
♪♪
Okay?
Okay, it's welcome to the world,
baby Christian.
Chris Jr.!
Yay, Christian!
Christian's surgery
went excellently.
I think it's going to heal
really well,
and now I'm going to
leave it up to Jonathan.
Let's see if he thinks
he's able to hack
getting his lipoma hacked.
So what do you think?
Do you want to have
your lipoma removed as well?
No pressure.
♪♪
Um, I have to think about it.
Okay.
That's okay.
I totally respect that.
Whatever you decide,
I'll be here.
Okay?
Mom, are you okay
with that decision?
Like you said,
it's his decision, so...
Yeah, and you know
it's not threatening his life,
and that's
the most important.
Thank you so much.
So that's good.
Yeah, I mean, we got a good one
from him anyways, right?
Yes.
You're the golden pop child
right now.
You better work that, okay?
See you guys later,
all right?
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I'd like to tell Dr. Lee
thank you for removing my lump.
I feel pretty happy that it's
finally off of my body
because now I won't have to be
wearing a bunch of sweaters
when it's hot.
I would like to tell Dr. Lee
thank you for letting me
make my own decision,
and it's not the first time
I stood up to my mom,
but it's the first time
she actually let me make
my own choice and let it happen.
♪♪
Dr. Lee: It's been 6 weeks since
Christian had his lump removed.
He has healed up so nicely,
and he's happy to not have
to hide his lump anymore.
Even after seeing how
happy his brother is,
Jonathan still does not want
to have his lump removed.
His mother still wishes
he'd change his mind.
♪♪
It's been 4 weeks
since Chuck's surgery.
He's doing so well.
The area looks great.
He's happy.
His boss is happy,
and now he doesn't have
to worry about a big old
popeye arm getting in
the way of his work.
♪♪
Lisa: It's been about 4 weeks
since I've seen Dr. Lee,
and I've honestly just been
kind of trying to enjoy
not having the horn there,
but Dr. Lee thinks
it could be a cancer.
I just really want to find out.
I want to know.
I'm my daughter's only parent.
I mean, she's 23.
She's not a kid, but...
♪♪
♪♪
You don't want to leave
her alone.
She's still young.
Hi, Lisa.
How are you?
Good.
How is the bump on your...
It's gone.
How was it, recovery wise?
Was it okay?
It's fine.
That's the way I like to hear.
Okay.
Let me take a look at it
actually first.
Let's see how it's healing.
Looking at Lisa's scalp,
it's healing so well.
She's got hair growing
where we excised that horn,
but I know that what
she's most interested in
is finding out
about her pathology results.
The area that I removed,
we took two different portions
of it and sent it in --
the part that was,
like, the horn.
And then the part
at the base,
and the more important thing
is that base part.
Let me show you, okay,
so I have some nice pictures.
That's actually
the top of your skin.
The dermatopathologist
read your slide,
and they say it's
an inflamed follicular cyst.
♪♪
There's no risk of cancer.
I don't think it's ever
coming back.
You cry even when you get
really happy about something?
No, I never cry.
You don't?
I only know you
as a cryer though.
How come?
I don't know.
Oh.
Well, maybe it's a cry
of relief though, right?
It is.
I'm going to give you
some medical kleenex.
That's gauze to you, okay?
It's great news.
Yeah?
Thank you, Dr. Lee,
for giving me my life back.
Thank you.
It was so nice...
When I get home and I see
my daughter,
I'm going to tell her
that she has to put up with me
for many more years to come.
discovery communications
I have a lump.
We're definitely going to need
splash screens.
We're going to need
our protection ready here.
Now, do you have
the some kind of thing?
Yeah.
I think it's strange that
one brother has a lump
and the other one has a lump.
Woman:
The growth makes me feel gross.
Who has, like, a horn growing
out of their head?
People don't come and see me
and then start crying.
Man: Over the last 10 years,
it's been growing out of control
like a snowball.
Dr. Lee: This is going to be
a terror to remove.
Oh, man, is it a fight.
♪♪
My name is Lisa,
I'm 43 years old,
and I have
a horn on the back of my head.
♪♪
My growth started probably
about a year ago.
It grows every day.
It gets bigger.
It's painful at times.
It has a ring that it grows
out of that is very tender.
It's a horn.
It's basically...
You'd see a rhinoceros.
It's a hard horn.
♪♪
I don't want anybody to see it,
so I wear my hair up,
pretty much
tuck it under my hair.
If I hit it, it hurts a lot.
At work, we have racks,
and I'll have to duck under them
so when I come back out,
I, you know, have to make sure
I don't hit my head on them
because it causes a lot of pain.
The growth makes me feel gross.
Who has, like, a horn
growing out of their head?
♪♪
So how was your day?
It was okay.
Yeah?
I have been engaged
to my fiance for 5 years.
He's been asking,
"oh, when are we going to
get married and set a date?"
And I put it off because I want
to, you know,
look pretty on my wedding day.
Usually when you get married
you're standing in front
of everybody
with your back to them.
That's the first thing
I think they're going to see.
Are you going to get
that thing taken care of?
I'm going to try.
Yeah?
I hope she can...
I can get it taken care of soon.
Don't worry about it.
You're perfect no matter
what, so...
Okay.
I think what's holding her back
is just that
she can't do her hair.
I see an embarrassment from her,
that she doesn't want to go out
in public with her hair down.
Come on, Jax.
Come on.
Lisa:
I worry what it could be.
[ Sniffling ]
My worst fear
is that it is cancer.
My grandmother died of cancer.
My father's sister died
of cancer.
She was right around my age.
Probably time
I should get it checked.
I have not been to a doctor
about it.
I don't have insurance,
so that's the main reason.
I don't really like doctors
either,
but it's not going to go
away on its own,
so I figure it's time
to get it taken care of.
♪♪
Yeah.
Oh, sure.
How are we with booking out on
moles and everything like that?
Are we pretty far out?
How far is it right now,
actually?
Looks like we are in August
as of right now.
In August?
Yeah.
Lisa: I'm feeling a little
nervous, anxious.
I think if Dr. Lee
can't help me,
I don't think anybody
would be able to,
and I think that if it's cancer
and I waited too long
to get it looked at,
I'm scared to leave
my daughter alone.
♪♪
Hi! How are you?
Hi.
Good, how are you?
I'm Sandra.
It's nice to meet you.
What's going on?
People don't come and see me
and then start crying.
Honey.
Just a lot of emotion.
Okay.
All right.
We're just here
to talk right now
and see what's going on
with you, right?
Can you tell me
a little bit about it?
I have a horn growing
out of my head.
Okay.
All right.
How long has that been going on?
A little over a year.
My family suffers from...
We get these other cysts
on our head.
I have a couple
of small ones here.
Oh, okay.
I have one right here.
Okay.
Yeah, yes, okay.
And then there's
another one down...
And I had one, and it broke,
and of course
I squeezed it.
Uh-huh.
It came to a point where
I couldn't squeeze it anymore,
and then this started growing.
Okay.
That's called a Pilar cyst.
Well, my mother
used to call them wens.
Yes. She's actually right,
wens, w-e-n.
That is a way --
another term we use
for those on your head.
Right.
A wen is just another term
for a Pilar cyst.
Just like a mole is also
called a nevus,
or a skin tag is also called
an acrochordon,
or a wart is also
called a verruca.
All right.
Should I take a look at it?
I'm very interested in seeing
what this bump looks like now.
But the way that she
describes her wen,
it doesn't sound like any Pilar
cyst that I've seen before.
Yeah.
It's like you have a fingernail
that's gone crazy
over here, huh?
Yes.
We call that usually
a cutaneous horn
when we see
something like that.
That, like, ring around
it is super sore.
Right.
And I can see how that's tender
because it's really
stretching your skin there.
Let me take a little photo of it
right now actually too.
I mean, I've seen
cutaneous horns before.
I mean, but certainly this is
the largest cutaneous horn
that I've ever seen.
Girl, we got to get rid
of that thing for you.
All right?
One of the things that I'm
certainly thinking about
with Lisa here
is skin cancer
because one type
of squamous cell carcinoma
called a keratoacanthoma
can look like this.
I'm not exactly sure
what it is.
I feel like you've given me
a story here
that sounds like it
could be a Pilar cyst,
and it has grown
out of control.
This is the angriest
Pilar cyst I've ever seen
if that's the case.
Because usually when we see
a cutaneous horn,
we do think of other things
that might be
a little bit more
concerning,
you know, that can happen
with types of skin cancers.
♪♪
One big swift knock
from your dog
and I think you would have
had this thing on the floor.
The lump is named Larry,
Larry the lump.
Yeah, you do have a little
Larry there.
Let's get started and make sure
you're nice and comfortable.
All right? Do you have
any questions at all?
Nope.
Lisa came in to see me
because of this horn growing out
of the back of her head.
I don't know
whether it's benign.
I don't know whether
it's malignant.
I'm hoping to figure out soon.
Come here.
Come here and see.
The only thing, and I want
to make sure we rule out,
of course, is, like,
a skin cancer,
like a squamous
cell carcinoma.
Yeah.
So let's try to set her up for,
like, a closure,
but we'll send
a part of it out.
♪♪
I'm going to try to excise
this cutaneous horn.
If something weird is going
on underneath there,
I might have
to change my plan.
We're going to see.
All right.
So you make sure we're not
hurting you at all.
There's a little worry
in the back of my mind
that it could be cancerous.
Dr. Lee: I'm just going to pull
on this and see.
Okay?
You guys ready?
♪♪
Yeah, one big, swift knock
from your dog,
and I think you would have
had this thing on the floor.
♪♪
♪♪
It's gone.
I mean, it looks like Pilar
cyst contents underneath,
but things can mimic that,
so I'm just going to try
to take all that off.
♪♪
♪♪
Just need to take that off.
Now, that's the skin we're going
to check to make sure
there's no thing that we're,
like, really concerned about.
Okay.
Sorry, a little tightness there.
I am happy to tell you
that it looks like
we pulled together
your skin very nicely there.
Okay, you want to see
your little friend here?
I do.
You do?
It's almost like a mitten.
It's crazy.
So that, even if it was
a skin cancer or a Pilar cyst,
this is all, like,
wet skin cells.
So as it's emerging out,
it was drying up
and getting hard like that.
Right.
Can you get me that metal
top for that tray?
Listen to this --
[ Tapping ]
So I'm going to send
that piece in,
and I'm going to send
some of the regular skin, too.
To see the horn that I've had
on the back of my head
for over a year sitting
in front of me feels unreal
that it's finally gone.
Dr. Lee: Oh, looking good.
That's good.
Right?
So I need to have a serious
talk with Lisa.
These conversations can be
challenging,
but they're important.
So we took that off.
It looks a lot
like a Pilar cyst,
but the other thing
that we really think about
is squamous cell carcinoma,
which is a type of skin cancer
that can grow in this area,
and it can have
this cutaneous horn.
That's what we tend to see.
So there is a chance we might
have to go in there
and remove more just to make
sure if there's a cancer there.
Okay?
It was so nice to meet you.
You too.
Thank you.
I'm glad, and no more tears,
so that's good.
Thank you.
She said that it
could be cancer.
I'm anxious to come back
to get my results.
It's gone.
Now, you know, we'll take
the rest as it comes.
♪♪
So, I'm Victor.
I'm 37 years old,
and I have a lump.
♪♪
This lump started
the last few years.
When I got off work one day,
I feel this tingling
on my chest,
and it's just like a pimple,
and I mash it, like,
and a massive amount
of stuff comes out.
Over the next couple of days,
it just healed
like any scab would,
and over the years, it just got
bigger and bigger and bigger.
I have three children, so it's,
like, a knob.
You know, they want to use it
to pull up on and play
with it like it's a joystick.
My daughter likes to lay on me
watching TV shows and so forth.
They basically use me
as a jungle gym,
and then this thing is there.
I've named this lump.
The lump is named Larry,
Larry the lump lump,
and Larry needs
to get out the way.
Dr. Lee is going to be in
in just a moment.
Okay?
Awesome.
So I am kind of nervous
right now
because it is on my chest,
you know,
so there's a lot of things
going on in this area
as far as your body.
You know, hopefully we don't
have any problems today,
so we're going to keep fingers
crossed and hope for the best.
Okay.
I hear we've got
another patient today.
We do.
Who's this?
His name is Victor.
Okay.
He has a bump on his chest.
Okay.
A bump on his chest.
All right.
And he wants me to pop it
I suppose, right?
Yes.
That's what we do here.
I'm going to go say
hello to him.
Okay.
Knock knock.
I hear there's a Victor in here.
Are you Victor?
Hi, I am Victor.
Nice to meet you.
Good to meet you.
I'm Sandra.
Yes, Dr. Lee.
Please have a seat.
So I have a little problem,
Larry.
You might be able
to help me out with that.
Who is Larry, or what is Larry?
So Larry is here.
Okay.
Close to your chest?
Yes.
Close to my heart.
Close to your heart.
Yes.
All right.
So I think
I'm mentally prepared.
Okay?
I'm going to take a look
at Larry for you.
Dun dun dun!
You need some Larry music.
Yeah, I know, right?
Maybe we'll get some.
♪♪
Oh, yeah, you do have a little
Larry there.
Yeah.
May I touch Larry's head,
Larry's...
Yes.
Yes? Okay.
In general,
this is called a tumor.
It doesn't mean
that it's life-threatening.
It doesn't mean
that it's dangerous.
It just means a growth
on the skin.
You know, I know you're probably
really concerned where it is
because it's right
in the middle of our chest.
We know we have a lot
of important organs under here,
but we have ribs under there,
and that is protecting our heart
and our lungs from me
getting anywhere near it.
Yeah.
When I'm removing something
of this size,
I'm not taking
my sharp scissors.
I'm probing straight down deep.
I'm slowly using curved,
blunt scissors
and trying to get underneath
this sort of growth
without a traumatizing
anything deeper.
I only want to go as deep
as I need to.
Okay, people.
We got Victor here.
He's got, like,
a pretty big cyst.
I think it's a cyst,
and it looks like
it's literally
hatching from his body.
I think it's a cyst.
If it's spiders, I'm out.
I'm out, too.
I'm out of the room.
You guys are going to have to
finish it up,
so let's get started with that.
I think that we're just going to
use regular surgical kit with,
you know, three and four.
Make sure you wear
your splash masks,
and we should be set. Okay?
Okay.
All right.
Got it.
Victor: So we don't know
what's in there,
but I expect Dr. Lee
to come in fully suited with,
like, a biohazard suit and mask
and helmet and hot gloves
and, you know,
all kinds of equipment.
- Hello.
- Okay.
Woo.
Getting all my gear on.
You're scaring me.
Oh, I'm sure I'm not
really scaring you.
I'm ready to cut Larry
out of the picture.
Yes, let's get her done.
Okay, just a little baby pinch,
okay, baby pinch.
You okay?
Yes, ma'am.
Okay.
Oh, that's just
your splash screen.
Here, let me show you
how to use this.
I'm giving Victor a splash mask
because you never know
how a cyst will act.
I've had cysts squirt and hit me
really close to my eye.
If I had my mouth open,
maybe hit me in the mouth.
That's why I wear
splash masks now.
That's why I should have
invested back
in splash masks way
back in the day
because I'm going
through them like candy.
Okay, you shouldn't
feel anything
other than us touching you.
All right?
Okay.
Okay.
♪♪
That is so nasty.
Larry was, like,
the devil's creamsicle.
Having this thing is just
an added safety issue.
Sheet metal is extremely sharp.
Everything around you
will kill you.
♪♪
Okay, you shouldn't
feel anything
other than us touching you.
All right?
Victor: Okay.
Okay.
Victor is here today,
and he brought his friend,
Larry, who lives on his chest.
So I'm really looking forward
to seeing
what Larry
is really made of there.
♪♪
I'm right on top of Larry.
You okay?
Mm-hmm.
Good.
It is a cyst,
absolutely a cyst.
Larry is like a little lava
right here.
I'm going to squeeze him out
a little bit, okay?
Ooh.
Larry is like mud.
Okay. Ready?
We're going to squeeze again,
so make sure I'm not
hurting you too bad, okay?
Okay.
Got it.
When I squeeze it initially,
it came out in two
different directions,
and that's because
there were two little cuts
in the cyst wall.
♪♪
This reminds me of that
"beauty and the beast"...
Do you know the line
I'm thinking of?
No?
"Try the gray stuff.
It's delicious."
Oh, my god.
You okay?
Yeah.
Okay.
I'm just going to push
a little bit more,
just a little bit more.
It's like two fangs.
Larry has got two fangs.
You know, I think that cyst
colors are different
because of our pigment
in our skin,
you and I have
a little more pigment,
so we can tend to get ones
that are more darker colored.
I think a person who is
really light complected
probably won't as
likely get a little dark one.
And I'm going to try to get
that sac wall out of there...
Okay.
...At this point.
I'm working really hard
to get the sac out
because it's really
kind of adherent.
It's stuck there to his chest.
Victor is really easy going.
He doesn't seem to be
too bothered by this,
so that makes things
a lot easier.
We got it out.
All right.
Let's put a stitch in there.
I'll fix you up.
It was a good pop.
That was a good pop.
♪♪
Wow.
Okay?
So this is just brown,
which will lighten over time.
Yeah?
It'll take time.
Keep it out of the sun.
That's awesome.
Larry the loser has left
the facilities.
Hopefully he's gone on
to the afterlife.
R.i.p., Larry.
Okay.
You ready for Larry?
Because he was a messy one.
Oh, my god.
Yeah.
All this squeezed out of him.
It's just wet, mashed-up
skin cells.
Oh, my god.
It's got chunks in it.
That is so nasty.
Larry was like
the devil's creamsicle.
I'll give you a moment
to say goodbye.
Okay.
I'll give you a moment alone.
Is there going to be, like,
sappy music now and...
Yeah.
You can cry.
You can shed a tear for Larry.
Okay?
Thank you.
You're so welcome.
You're awesome.
You too.
Now I can go back home
and let my daughter Maya
lay on my chest in peace.
See you, Larry.
Larry is gone.
♪ Larry is gone ♪
So I'm good. Yeah.
She doing good today.
Yeah.
♪♪
♪♪
My name is Chuck Brock.
I live in costa mesa,
California, and I have a bump,
lump on my right arm.
♪♪
♪♪
When I was about 18, 19,
I noticed a small bump,
maybe the size of a marble,
under the skin.
Thought nothing of it,
and then it's just gotten
larger and larger.
Over the last 10 years,
it's been growing out of control
like a snowball.
I'll be like a popeye
from one side.
I'm self-conscious about it.
Try to cover it up.
I don't know want the bump
to be the conversation
every time
I come into the room,
just having to explain
something that's wrong with you.
See, this one gets in there,
I can get this cleaned out.
This one, it just doesn't...
There's no way.
I mean, there's literally no way
I can get my arm in there.
It's constantly in the way
at work.
Sheet metal is extremely sharp.
Everything around you
will kill you.
Having this thing is just
an added safety issue.
I try not to bump it
and try not to stab it,
try not to squish it.
I don't know want to be
the weak link in the chain.
♪♪
It's come to the point where
the boss, he wants it gone.
Okay, so, yeah, just,
le's get this over.
Man: It's hanging out there.
It's flopping around.
You know, he can't reach...
Like, if he's trying
to fix something, he's trying
to reach into something type,
it becomes a problem.
No doubt about it.
Chuck is
the face of your company,
because he's making deliveries,
and when they see Chuck
and he's got this big bump
on his arm,
and people want to say things,
and it's definitely
annoying, you know.
There we go.
Oh, thank you, dear.
Okay.
Woman: When I first met Chuck,
the growth was probably
size of a quarter.
It didn't seem like it grew
that fast at first,
but then it was like,
one day, "wow,
there's a,
you know, pumpkin on your arm."
When people make comments,
he'll just kind of roll his eyes
and say, "whatever."
He says it doesn't bother him,
but it does.
That thing has been growing
on you since I've known you.
You can't ignore it anymore,
and you can't let it
grow another 30 years.
Well, I worry that that bump
is either going to kill him
or leave him disabled.
I think he's playing with fire.
He should have been trying
to take care of it years ago.
We both know that you're really
scared to get it cut open.
Yeah.
What you don't know
won't hurt you, right?
You know, what if I find out
it's something really,
really bad?
So never had it checked out
until now.
Dr. Lee seems very caring.
I think I'll be in good hands.
♪♪
I'm nervous.
You know, I'm not
used to doctors.
Follow me.
I just want to get it cut,
get it popped,
get it gone so I can
just go on about my life.
♪♪
Hi.
Hi.
How are you?
I'm Sandra.
Hi. Chuck.
It's nice to meet you.
Welcome.
What do you got here?
I can I already see it.
You got something on your arm.
It's like a popeye muscle,
isn't it?
Let me take a look at it
if you don't mind.
It's freely mobile on your skin.
That's a good sign, you know,
that it's above, like,
muscle and anything kind of
really important under there.
Oh, I do think this is a lipoma,
but I guess you can't be
absolutely certain.
I've been tricked before.
Something of this size
has been a cyst.
Really?
Yes, yes.
My main concern is sometimes
they pop out,
and sometimes I got
to fight with them,
so hopefully you're not
going to give us a fight, right?
Yeah, I'm not giving you
a fight.
It might, but...
If this is a lipoma,
I certainly hope that it will
come out in one nice pop
because if it doesn't,
it's a little harder
to wrestle with it,
and I want to make sure
I get it out completely.
Okay.
So you're ready?
Oh, I'm good to go.
Okay.
All right, I'll see you in
a little bit, okay?
Okay.
The doctor said that the way
it jiggles,
it's probably on top
of that the muscle
so hopefully it would be
a one single popper.
I bet you he'll be excited
to get rid of this.
I'll tell you that.
Well, yeah, I'm not
going to be the only one.
I'll get my old lady
off my back, boss of my back.
That's what I'm
looking forward to,
getting this thing gone
and moving on.
All right.
We're ready to boogie.
♪♪
Here we go.
♪♪
So I guess it's definitely
not a blackhead, right?
No.
It's kind of stuck in you
a little bit.
Definitely multilobulated.
This is a lipoma, but it's
a multilobulated lipoma,
and that means it has
multiple fingers that burrow
and get wedged in the skin
between normal tissue.
I don't think he's going to
come off in one full piece.
This is going to be
a terror to remove.
Come on.
I want to get to the bottom
of it before I cut it.
Come on.
Oh, man, is it a fight!
Come on.
I see the lipoma.
I'm going to give it
a little squeeze though here.
Oh, here it is!
♪♪
Come on.
I want to get to the bottom
f it before I cut it.
Chuck has a popeye-like lipoma
on his upper arm.
It's a multilobulated lipoma,
and that means it has
multiple fingers
that burrow and get wedged.
It has grown
for the last 30 years.
It's found every little nook
and cranny under the skin,
and it's going to be like
arm wrestling with this lipoma.
Come on.
Little tugs.
That's all I need.
♪♪
That was a good chunk.
I got part of it out.
I'm just trying to get
the rest of it.
I'm having to pull out this
lipoma piece by small piece.
Find the secret release here.
Come on!
[ Sighs ]
I just got it right here!
It's right there!
[ Groans ]
♪♪
I had to be really meticulous
when I remove
a lipoma like Chuck's.
It's sort of like you have
to feel with your fingers
the different little caverns
that are under there,
and you just have to do
this blindly.
Is there anything I can do?
No, just think
expunging thoughts.
I'm hearing noises,
and I'm feeling tugs.
I try not to think negatively.
I try to think positively.
I'm just hoping that nothing is
getting damaged in the fight.
Dr. Lee:
I got a good one here.
Phew.
That was a good chunk.
That made me feel better.
I need to make sure that I get
every last piece that I can find
because if I leave
any part of this lipoma there,
there's a chance
that it can grow back
goddang it.
Okay. I think we're going to
stitch you up.
Finally the lipoma is all out.
Let me tell you,
Chuck was a trooper,
and it would have been nice
for both of us
if it would have been
a nice, clean pop,
but that just wasn't the case.
You know, that's the tough thing
about this.
It's like, I try to guess
as much as I can
how it's going to be,
if it's going to pop out or not.
Yeah, it's like that box
of chocolates thing, right?
Yes, it is.
Lipomas are like a box
of chocolates.
Look at that.
Holy moly!
That looks good.
Yeah!
That's not coming back.
Shoot!
I haven't seen it skinny
like that in forever.
When I saw my arm
for the first time,
it was actually very surprising
to see it so flat.
I haven't seen that
since I was a teenager.
It feels great
let me see the pile.
Holy moly!
Look at that thing.
My old lady is going
to be happy.
Your lady is going to be happy?
Yes.
Aw.
Chuck looks really great
after surgery.
His arms match up
really well now.
If anything, his right arm
is probably
a little bit more muscular
because it's been carrying
around this lipoma for so long.
Thank you.
It's so nice to meet you.
You did well.
You did awesome.
You did awesome.
You did a great a job.
All I did was lay there.
It was a little bit of a fight.
It wasn't giving up easy,
but she won.
I'll leave you alone to say
goodbye.
We're done.
Okay.
Dr. Lee is the best.
I put my faith in her,
and she pulled it off.
♪♪
That last surgery, it looked
like a bicep,
this huge bicep on the arm,
it makes me feel
a little guilty.
I think I need to go to the gym.
I think you need to go
to the gym with me.
Yeah, we got to, like,
pump up your bicep a little bit.
Hey, I'm not going to the gym,
but if you're going
to the gym...
You're going to go the gym?
Yeah... maybe.
Yeah, maybe.
You're going to come with me
though, right?
No. No.
I'll just lunge.
I'll lunge to the gym.
♪♪
- Who is winning?
- Oh, it's tie.
Christian just got ranned over
by a ball.
Ranned?
Or rammed.
I have two teenage boys.
Jonathan is 16 years old,
and Christian
is 15 years old.
Four years ago, we noticed
a bump on Jonathan's side.
It's about 2 inches, an inch,
and it hasn't grown at all,
but I do worry about it.
He was seen by the doctor,
and he said that it was
just fatty tissue,
and that it wouldn't
affect them in any way.
I mean, I had a doctor there
telling me that it was fine,
so I didn't think anything
much of it after that.
This is the lump on my back.
Woman: When I first noticed
my other son,
Christian's bump,
it was about 3 inches wide.
Christian: It feels weird.
It feels like there's
a hard thing in the middle.
Woman: I was sure that if we
went to the doctor
the doctor was going to say,
"oh, it's just fatty tissue."
So we never visited the doctor
for Christian.
It's a lot bigger than I thought
because normally
I can only see the side.
Woman:
But in Christian's case,
his lump is growing
at a faster pace.
It's doubled in size
within the past couple of years.
Christian: I wear a sweatshirt
every day
because it covers my lump.
I get embarrassed when people
notice it,
so I try to hide my lump
whenever I go to the beach
or to the pool
or when it's hot.
Woman: With regards to getting
them removed,
I will try to convince
both of them to get it done.
I mean, Christian is on board
already.
The one that I have to talk to
a little bit more
would be Jonathan.
Having to try to convince him
to do something
that's going to ultimately
be of benefit for them,
it's stressful.
I want you guys to go see
Dr. Lee
because I am concerned
about the bumps.
I'm fine with the lump.
Like, it doesn't bother me.
I kind of do feel like I don't
want my lump to be removed
because I'm just scared of maybe
getting hurt from the surgery.
I'm pretty sure it won't hurt.
They'll give you
local anesthesia
so that you guys
won't have any pain.
If she needs to surgically
remove them,
it'll be for the greater
good of your health.
♪♪
♪♪
I think all our kids are about
the same age, right?
Mine are 13 and 12,
you got 12 and 11.
And yours are a little bit
younger.
Nine and 11.
Nine and 11 -- you're, like,
kind of in the middle.
Like, your kids let you, like,
put your arm around you
while you're out in public.
My other one won't.
My oldest one won't.
He's like, "don't do that.
That's embarrassing."
I try to grab his hand.
He's like, "what are you doing?"
♪♪
In my mind,
Jonathan doesn't have a choice
to getting his lipoma removed.
It is his body, but it's going
to be for his benefit.
Good morning.
Morning.
We're going to be
down this hall here.
Most likely I think my mom
will force Jonathan
to get the surgery done
whether he wants to or not.
Nope.
Make yourselves comfortable.
Dr. Lee is going to be
in very shortly.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I think you should calm down
and just get it done with
because it'll be faster
to get it done
with than to try
to neglect it.
Easier said than done.
Hello.
Hi, Dr. Lee.
Hi. How are you?
I'm Sandra.
Nice to meet you.
Edith.
It's very much nice to meet you.
This I Christian,
and this Jonathan.
Hi, Christian.
And you're Jonathan?
Yeah.
Hi.
Nice to meet you guys all.
This is a little party here,
huh, I see?
So what brings you here?
So Christian has some...
I just have...
A bump on his side here.
Okay.
And wanted to see
if you can remove it.
How long has he had this bump?
For a couple of years.
And does it hurt you at all
or is it just more like
it's annoying,
kind of embarrassing?
Kind of annoying
and embarrassing.
Okay. Now, do you have
the same kind of thing?
Yeah.
You have one too?
Is yours as big,
or is his bigger?
His is bigger.
His is bigger?
But he's younger than you are.
What the heck?
I think it's strange that
one brother has a lump
and the other one
has a lump, too, on their back.
I mean, is there some sort of
genetic propensity for this?
Hopefully the bumps on these
two boys' backs are benign.
I don't know really exactly
what they are.
I won't know
until I examine them.
♪♪
It kind of feels like a lipoma.
It is pretty soft here.
To have a lipoma like this
on a young man is believable.
I mean, he's young.
It's not really big.
If it were really big
on a young man,
I would be
more concerned with it.
It's kind of a little weird
that they both have one.
Can I see yours too?
Would that be okay?
Yeah.
Yours is a lot smaller?
After examining
Christian's bump,
it's pretty obvious to me
that this is a benign lipoma.
If Jonathan has a similar bump,
then that would mean that these
are both cosmetic procedures.
They are not medically
necessary to remove.
Thank you.
Sorry.
I hope I'm not going
to tickle you here.
How long have you had yours?
Not as long?
About the same?
Time frame, yeah,
more or less.
So yours is just slower
growing, huh?
Does this bump bother you?
It's pretty small.
Does it bother you?
It doesn't bother you.
Well, these are benign growths.
They can be removed,
but it's really important to me
when you're under 18 that,
you know, you are okay with this
because it's technically
an elective kind of procedure.
It's not something
that you have to do.
It's all about control, too.
You know, I think I've seen
a lot patients
who are 50, 60,
and they'll go,
"oh, my mom made me
do this back then.
I hate doctors,
and I can't stand,"
you know, they cringe if I even
come at them with anything,
so it's totally up
to you guys to decide this.
What do you think?
Do you think you want
to take it off?
I don't think it's bad to take
it off or anything.
Yeah, take it off.
Yeah?
Okay.
I have a feeling you might want
your younger brother
to go first.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right. We'll do that.
Is that okay with you?
Yeah.
Okay. All right.
I'll see you guys
in a little bit.
Okay.
As their mom, as a parent,
I would love both of them
to get it done today,
but Dr. Lee is
a medical professional,
and I respect that, and if she
wants to give them that option,
then it's okay with me.
♪♪
Okay. You shouldn't feel
anything, like I said, okay?
Just me pushing against you.
Nothing sharp or uncomfortable.
♪♪
This is the you're ever going to
have to having a baby.
Dr. Lee thinks
it could be a cancer.
I just really want to find out.
The area that I removed, we took
two different portions of it
and sent it in.
You shouldn't feel anything,
like I said, okay?
Just me pushing against you.
Nothing sharp or uncomfortable.
Jonathan and Christian
are brothers
who both have lipomas
on their body.
Their mom really wants them
to have their lipomas removed.
Christian is very interested
in doing so;
Jonathan, not so much,
so maybe Jonathan can watch me
do Christian's lipoma removal
and see how easy
and simple it is,
and maybe that might
change his mind.
Mom and brother,
you just make sure
nothing is bothering you, too.
If you're feeling like,
"ah, I can't look,"
you look away,
or certainly you tell us, okay?
This is the closest you're ever
going to have to having a baby.
I see the lipoma.
I'm just kind of trying
to disconnect it
from the regular fibrous bands
we have in our back.
I'm going to give it
a little squeeze out here.
♪♪
Ugh...
Christian looks like he's got
a textbook lipoma on his back.
It is a little stuck to him,
so I do need to detach
these fibrous bands
that kind of keep it
stuck to his body.
You okay over there?
I hear some noises.
Yeah, I m fine.
Just think like
it's a video game.
Okay.
You okay?
Yeah.
You got to squeeze him
a little bit.
You're doing great.
Come on. You're almost done.
He's almost out.
[ Squelching, soft laughter ]
Okay, if I'm pulling on you
underneath, you let me know.
That's pretty big!
How about you, Jonathan?
I hope it's not turning you
off of chicken
or anything like that.
Yeah, make it into
chicken nuggets
and feed it to them later.
Oh, my gosh.
Your mom's sick.
Your mom is crazy.
You're doing great.
Almost got them all.
[ Gagging ]
All right.
He's coming up here.
♪♪
[ Groans ]
♪♪
Okay?
Okay, it's welcome to the world,
baby Christian.
Chris Jr.!
Yay, Christian!
Christian's surgery
went excellently.
I think it's going to heal
really well,
and now I'm going to
leave it up to Jonathan.
Let's see if he thinks
he's able to hack
getting his lipoma hacked.
So what do you think?
Do you want to have
your lipoma removed as well?
No pressure.
♪♪
Um, I have to think about it.
Okay.
That's okay.
I totally respect that.
Whatever you decide,
I'll be here.
Okay?
Mom, are you okay
with that decision?
Like you said,
it's his decision, so...
Yeah, and you know
it's not threatening his life,
and that's
the most important.
Thank you so much.
So that's good.
Yeah, I mean, we got a good one
from him anyways, right?
Yes.
You're the golden pop child
right now.
You better work that, okay?
See you guys later,
all right?
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I'd like to tell Dr. Lee
thank you for removing my lump.
I feel pretty happy that it's
finally off of my body
because now I won't have to be
wearing a bunch of sweaters
when it's hot.
I would like to tell Dr. Lee
thank you for letting me
make my own decision,
and it's not the first time
I stood up to my mom,
but it's the first time
she actually let me make
my own choice and let it happen.
♪♪
Dr. Lee: It's been 6 weeks since
Christian had his lump removed.
He has healed up so nicely,
and he's happy to not have
to hide his lump anymore.
Even after seeing how
happy his brother is,
Jonathan still does not want
to have his lump removed.
His mother still wishes
he'd change his mind.
♪♪
It's been 4 weeks
since Chuck's surgery.
He's doing so well.
The area looks great.
He's happy.
His boss is happy,
and now he doesn't have
to worry about a big old
popeye arm getting in
the way of his work.
♪♪
Lisa: It's been about 4 weeks
since I've seen Dr. Lee,
and I've honestly just been
kind of trying to enjoy
not having the horn there,
but Dr. Lee thinks
it could be a cancer.
I just really want to find out.
I want to know.
I'm my daughter's only parent.
I mean, she's 23.
She's not a kid, but...
♪♪
♪♪
You don't want to leave
her alone.
She's still young.
Hi, Lisa.
How are you?
Good.
How is the bump on your...
It's gone.
How was it, recovery wise?
Was it okay?
It's fine.
That's the way I like to hear.
Okay.
Let me take a look at it
actually first.
Let's see how it's healing.
Looking at Lisa's scalp,
it's healing so well.
She's got hair growing
where we excised that horn,
but I know that what
she's most interested in
is finding out
about her pathology results.
The area that I removed,
we took two different portions
of it and sent it in --
the part that was,
like, the horn.
And then the part
at the base,
and the more important thing
is that base part.
Let me show you, okay,
so I have some nice pictures.
That's actually
the top of your skin.
The dermatopathologist
read your slide,
and they say it's
an inflamed follicular cyst.
♪♪
There's no risk of cancer.
I don't think it's ever
coming back.
You cry even when you get
really happy about something?
No, I never cry.
You don't?
I only know you
as a cryer though.
How come?
I don't know.
Oh.
Well, maybe it's a cry
of relief though, right?
It is.
I'm going to give you
some medical kleenex.
That's gauze to you, okay?
It's great news.
Yeah?
Thank you, Dr. Lee,
for giving me my life back.
Thank you.
It was so nice...
When I get home and I see
my daughter,
I'm going to tell her
that she has to put up with me
for many more years to come.