'Dr Pimple Popper' Season 8: Dr Lee treats Eddie's port-wine stain to help him get back into workforce
In the latest episode of 'Dr Pimple Popper' Season 8, Dr Sandra Lee meets a patient with a birthmark that has wreaked havoc on his self-confidence. She and her colleague in the field do everything possible to help him come out of his hiding.
Eddie, 54, from Punta Gorda, FL, has a birthmark with three bumps on his nose. He was born with the birthmark, which was initially pale pink, but as he approached 45, it began to worsen, becoming darker and darker. In 2013, he went to see a dermatologist, who couldn't assist him or tell him what was wrong with him. After working in Pizza sales for 16 years, his nasal lumps prompted him to not leave his house and eventually stop working. His anxiousness has kept him confined to his home for the past eight years. Even after relocating closer to his oldest daughter, Kirsti, and her family in Florida, he refuses to participate in activities that require him to leave the house.
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Eddie and his youngest son, Adrien, go to Dr Lee in Upland, CA, to seek help for Eddie to move on with his life. Dr Lee examined Eddie's birthmark and determined that he had a port-wine stain (capillary malformation/vascular birthmark) or nevus flammeus. Eddie had it since birth, and it's bumpy and warty, which tipped her off to the diagnosis. She also noted that the mark was just on one side of his nose. Further investigation revealed that Eddie's birthmark is purple in hue, indicating that the pigment or growth is deeper beneath the skin. Dr Lee also notices the 2-3 pimples he has on his nose.
Dr Lee tells the viewer that port-wine stains are difficult to remove since they are very persistent. She recommends laser therapy to help lessen the vascular abnormalities, although it may require several treatments. Each treatment has a gradual improvement and even if he gets 12 treatments, there's no assurance that all will be gone. Dr Lee adds that she can try to flatten the lumps using different treatments and hope that they don't come back. She also admits that laser therapy isn't the most pleasant experience, comparing it to the snap of a rubber band.
Dr Lee numbs the region before removing Eddie's nose's elevated collections of vascular abnormalities. Because these growths are not firm but rather wobbly, she uses a pair of scissors with little serrations to assist her hold and snipping them off. Eddie's nasal lumps were gone with a few snips. Dr Lee then treats the birthmark on his nose, excluding the eye part because she lacks the corneal shield to protect his eyes. If she uses this laser without the shield to cure the eyelid skin, it can penetrate through the thin skin to his eyeball and induce blindness.
She pulls out her laser machine and begins treating the birthmarks on his nose. After the laser treatment, the region begins to darken somewhat, which is a positive indication. The laser focuses on the redness and pulverizes the little blood vessels that generate ecchymosis or bruising in the region, which is a positive sign meaning it's working. Dr Lee advises him to wait 1-2 weeks for further results following the purpuric response. Eddie will require more treatments, so Dr Lee refers him to a laser expert, Dr Arisa Ortiz, in San Diego, who can treat him over his eye. She has a wide variety of lasers at her disposal and can make a significant difference in fewer treatments for Eddie.
Eddie travels to San Diego to visit Dr Ortiz after his initial procedure with Dr Lee. She continued to treat his birthmark with lasers. Eddie's nasal scar healed wonderfully two months after his fourth treatment, and the heavy red was gone.
'Dr Pimple Popper' Season 8 airs on TLC every Wednesday at 9 pm.