Where is Roger now? A look at 'Dr Pimple Popper' patient's life after rhinophyma surgery
With two grapefruit-sized lumps growing on his nose, life has been anything but easy for Roger. The Texas resident made an appearance on the premiere episode of 'Dr Pimple Popper' Season 6 and shared his gutwrenching story with the world.
"I used to look normal, I used to have a nice nose, because I used to have a lot of girlfriends," he revealed in his introduction video on the show. What started off as a small pimple, grew into tennis ball size boils, and finally into two huge lumps over the course of twelve years, leaving Roger with great difficulty to carry out even basic functions like breathing, eating, and sleeping. He turned to Dr Sandra Lee aka 'Dr Pimple Popper' for help. One look at his nose, and Dr Lee immediately diagnosed him with rhinophyma. In fact, she added that it was the 'biggest case of rhinophyma' that she had ever come across.
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You can watch the clip of Roger sharing his heartbreaking story of living with rhinophyma here
Rhinophyma is a part of rosacea (a common skin condition, especially among people of Celtic descent), which is significantly more common among men. It affects the nose, causing thickening of the skin and dilated pores. The skin around the nose thickens due to excess production of oil from the sebaceous glands (oil glands). Even though this is not a life-threatening condition, its appearance can personally affect those who have it.
Roger's however was classified as "truly critical" by Dr Lee as she pointed out that the growth was lacking proper blood supply. Roger's lumps also had blood and pus discharge which attracted flies. When fans heard Roger's story on the TLC show, they were left seething with rage at the healthcare system in the country. Roger explained that he had gone to a couple of hospitals seeking help but nobody wanted to help him as he didn't have insurance. "I went to a couple of hospitals but they didn't want to help me. They just said since you have no insurance or nothing it's just like, hi, bye. I feel like nobody cares and I'm scared too, because it's getting bigger to tell you the truth, and I don't want it no bigger."
Where is Roger now?
After an in-person consultation with Dr Lee, his treatment began for the removal of rhinophyma. Dr Lee roped in Dr Richard Bennett to help her with the surgery and treatment of Roger. The premiere episode featured the duo working really hard on carefully removing the lumps without causing any damage to his nose or blood vessels. Unfortunately, the episode ended before we got a peek of how Roger looked post-surgery.
Although we will have to wait until the next episode to see his handsome face without the two grapefruit-sized lumps hanging by his nose, we got an update on Roger for you. A person claiming to be Roger's family member commented on the show's YouTube clip that his Uncle (Roger) was doing great post-treatment. The person wrote, "And the day is here!!! My uncle is FINALLY getting his nose taken care of😁😁❤ Thank you for all the prayers and support throughout this process. He is doing great and happy with his results!"
Prior to his surgery, Roger's painful lumps weren't letting him eat his food, or even sleep. "There's a lot of things I can't do with this thing on. I have to move my nose because I can't eat right because there's barely any room. I get tired if picking up my nose to eat, it's hard for me to eat. Sometimes I won't even eat, a lot of times I won't eat. I'm thinking about this nose everyday even when I'm sleeping I can't breathe through my nose because of the heaviness I have to breathe with my mouth... And I have to hold it while I sleep. And I have to pick it up before I go to sleep. And I can't sleep because I start getting pains in between the cracks here. And I might just as well stay up."
Roger used to work for a steel company as a supervisor, but thanks to his condition he hasn't been able to work. "I haven't worked for a while because everybody gets scared of me. Everybody laughs at me. I go to the corner store, the lady at the store, she has her little kid in there. She goes, "I don't want you coming in this store no more, get somebody else to come because you're scaring my kid. I feel sad," he shared.
The recently aired episode featured Roger's life post surgery, where he can be seen attending family gatherings and living his life to the fullest. He was also pleased about older women approaching him and talking to him. After suffering due to rhinophyma for twelve long years, Roger is beyond ecstatic at getting rid of it and getting a second shot at life.
'Dr Pimple Popper' Season 6 airs every Wednesday at 9/8c on TLC, and is also available for streaming on Discovery +.