Editor’s note: This post contains graphic images and descriptions of dermatological conditions.
- During the second episode of “Dr. Pimple Popper” season 4, Dr. Sandra Lee treats a man named Steve who has a fist-sized bump on his forehead.
- Steve said the bump hinders him from wearing baseball caps backwards, his signature look that he said helped him first get his wife Mandy’s attention years ago.
- Lee diagnosed Steve with a lipoma, or a fat-filled growth that sits between a person’s muscle layer and skin layer.
- Steve’s lipoma was so large, Lee had to remove the fat deposit in pieces. She said the fat pieces looked like scrambled eggs and scalloped potatoes.
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During the second episode of “Dr. Pimple Popper” season 4, Dr. Sandra Lee treats a man named Steve who has a fist-sized squishy bump on his forehead.
Steve, a 37-year-old Michigan resident, said he saw a doctor about three years ago for the bump, but when the doctor told him it was non-cancerous, he decided to just live with it.
But in the episode, Steve, whose last name wasn’t disclosed, said the bump now hinders him from wearing baseball caps backwards, his signature look that he said helped him first get his wife Mandy’s attention years ago.
Steve also said the bump causes pressure to build up behind his eye and nose at times, and Mandy said she observed how the bump lowered Steve's confidence.
"My wife Mandy is here to support me, but I think more than anything she wants to see what's inside it," Steve said of his bump.
When Dr. Pimple Popper first met with Steve at her office, she examined and touched his forehead. When she found the lump to have a squishy and fleshy texture, she guessed Steve had a lipoma, or a fat-filled growth that sits between a person's muscle layer and skin layer.
Typically, lipomas grow slowly and are fairly small, about 2 inches in diameter, according to the Mayo Clinic, and they usually aren't cancerous.
Dr. Pimple Popper wasted no time cutting open Steve's lipoma, which contained fat deposits resembling scrambled eggs
Doctors are still unsure what exactly causes lipomas to grow on some people but not others. Genetics could play a role, according to the Mayo Clinic.
During the episode, Lee also asked Steve if he has banged his head a lot because she said that can also contribute to lipoma development. He said he has hit his head a few times at work, but never said what his job was.
Next, Lee said it was time to treat the bump, so she numbed the area by injecting a solution directly into the bump, and then she used a scalpel to cut it open about three inches. At that point, Dr. Pimple Popper confirmed that Steve's growth was indeed a lipoma.
Excessive bleeding was one concern Lee had while treating Steve
Since the lipoma was on Steve's head, Lee said she had to use a special pen-like tool to cauterize, or essentially burn, blood vessels in the area, which prevents excessive bleeding that's common in head wounds. Cauterizing blood vessels to prevent bleeding also helped her better see inside the lipoma, Lee said.
After checking out the inner contents of Steve's lipoma, Lee realized just how large and fat-filled it was.
"I'm always hoping for a clean pop, but this is a lipoma on the forehead and it's very unlikely I can pop it out whole," like in other lipoma cases she's treated, Lee said.
Instead, Lee started to remove small pieces of fat from inside the bump using tweezers. According to Lee, the first piece she removed resembled scrambled eggs, and another piece looked like scalloped potatoes. Mandy smiled and agreed with Lee's food similes, while Steve vowed not to eat for the rest of the day.
Finally, Lee removed all of the fat in the lipoma and stitched up Steve's head near his scalp to hide the future scar as well a possible.
Following the procedure, Lee gave Steve a mirror to check out the final results. "I feel great with no bump right now. It's awesome," Steve said.
He also told Mandy he packed one of his beloved baseball caps in his suitcase to wear once he could take the wound dressing off his head.