'Dr Pimple Popper': Can Dr Lee help Season 5's Monica get rid of her bumps and birthmarks?
Season 6 of 'Dr Pimple Popper' is turning out to be the season of 'most extensive cases'. After Dr Sandra Lee managed to successfully help Roger with his rhinophyma, which happened to be the most extensive case of rhinophyma that Dr Lee had ever seen, she is ready to take on her next big challenge- another most extensive case of a rare type of birthmark called nevus sebaceous.
Fans of 'Dr Pimple Popper' might recognize the patient with the most extensive case nevus sebaceous as Monica from Season 5. Monica met Dr Lee last season seeking help with getting rid of the bumps that dotted the side of her face and all the way down her neck. Monica shared her gut-wrenching story of how she couldn't secure her dream job of being a teacher because the school felt that kids might not be comfortable around her. She turned to Dr Lee for getting help with smoothening out some of the bumps on her face. Unfortunately Monica's fear of pain forced Dr Lee to stop the treatment midway. Read on to know all about Monic's condition and the details of why Dr Lee couldn't complete the treatment.
RELATED ARTICLES
'Dr Pimple Popper': Brittany seeks Dr Lee's help after being called 'monster' for bumps on body
'Dr Pimple Popper': Tamyra slices her foot and uses sandpaper to get rid of 'reptilian' skin
What is Nevus Sebaceous?
A nevus sebaceous is a type of birthmark that usually appears on the scalp. It may also appear on the face but its occurrence is rarer. It is made of extra oil glands in the skin. It starts as a flat pink or orange plaque. Hair does not grow in a nevus sebaceous.
Monica has grainy bumps of different sizes all over her face, neck and tongue and they show no signs of stopping their growth, rendering it quite problematic for her. She has had several surgeries to get them removed but the bumps kept coming back. They start from above her eyebrows down to the left side of her face and neck. They itch when they are rough and her skin gets flaky. Apart from the bumps, she was born with a lot of moles and if she scratches them when itchy, they start to bleed all over her face. Monica also cannot be outside for too long during summer because the heat bothers her face.
Monica was bullied quite a lot as a kid owing to her appearance. "I’ve always had this birthmark my whole life. The medical term for it is nevus sebaceous is what I’ve always been told. It started really small — probably was about the size of my index finger,” Monica elaborates. “I was bullied as a kid. You know, people telling me I looked like I had a pepperoni pizza face. Once I reached puberty, it got worse, and that’s basically why I had many surgeries back then ‘cause I was made fun of quite often. I’ve had plastic surgery, dermabrasion surgery, laser surgery, but it’s always come back. It’s frustrating. I haven’t had any surgery or had anything done since I was 25 years old and I’m 37 now. I gave up. I just live with it.”
Once a lady reportedly asked her what Halloween character she was trying to portray at her place of work and she was deeply hurt by that. Even though Monica is working at a movie theater her dream job is to work with children and she has a degree in early childhood. Unfortunately, when she interviewed for such a position, her interviewer told her the kids wouldn’t be comfortable with her appearance. It wasn’t true according to Monica, she said when she interacted with kids, they sure asked her about the bumps but once she explained to them they were totally fine with it.
Why did Dr Lee stop Monica's treatment midway?
Considering Monica already tried several procedures in the past to get rid of her bumps, Dr. Lee decided to try something new and opted for electrosurgery.But before beginning the process of cutting off the bumps from her face, Dr Lee applied a generous quantity of numbing cream all over Monica's face. Monica kept telling Dr. Lee how she was very scared of pain, so Dr. Lee spent a lot of time trying to numb her face, and kept pausing to check in on how she was holding up.
Dr Lee began cutting off the bumps around her nose with a serrated scissors, but when she reached her forehead, she decided to use the electrosurgery tool for a precise cut. Even after putting a lot of numbing solutions on her face, Monica was too scared to carry on. She said she still could feel the pain to the point where Dr Lee couldn’t continue with the procedure and had to stop midway. She tried switching back to the metal scissors to finish the rest of her face but it was still painful for Monica.
Dr Lee told the camera a lot of the pain was in her head and she almost stopped immediately when the metal touched her face. Sadly, Dr Lee couldn’t finish the procedure. However, Monica was happy with whatever part of her face was cleared and was sure she got her confidence back to carry on with her life. But turns out, things didn't go as well for Monica. So she made a comeback in season 6, determined to complete her treatment.
In the trailer for season 6, Monica can be heard saying, "Today’s my second chance and you don’t always get a second chance. It’s just, I was upset that I didn’t have a whole lot done.” Hopefully, Monica can complete her treatment and also secure her dream job as a teacher.
'Dr. Pimple Popper' Season 6 airs every Wednesday at 9/8c on TLC.