- Dr. Pimple Popper treated a man who though he had 7 scalp cysts.
- It turned out he had more hiding under his skin's surface, the result of the man picking and popping the growths at home.
- Dr. Pimple Popper said the treatment was difficult, but she still removed most of the cysts.
On the latest episode of her show, Dr. Pimple Popper treated a man she nicknamed the "pimple popper museum" because he had a head full of cysts that contained secret cysts within them.
Ken, a 35-year-old from Polk County, Florida, came to Dr. Pimple Popper's office in Upland, California for pilar cysts that ranged in size from a pea to a golf ball.
On the episode, Ken said he noticed the first cyst when he was 19. Every year since, he's found one or two more cysts have developed on his scalp.
Ken says he grew his hair and beard out to cover the cysts and stopped going to the gym due to embarrassment. He's also tried to pop them himself, but with no success.
"These bumps have definitely put me in a more depressed mood. It's affected my job and my confidence," Ken, who is a cell phone salesperson, said on the episode.
Ken picked and prodded his cysts, so they were more liquified than usual
Ken admitted to Dr. Pimple Popper, whose real name is dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee, that he used a safety pin and his own fingers in an attempt to rid himself of his cysts.
Lee said she understood he felt helpless in those situations, but popping and picking at cysts can lead to infection, a cyst growing back larger, or a more difficult treatment process.
According to Lee, irritated cysts form extra scar tissue and refill with a more liquified substance, making it more difficult to remove a growth in its entirety.
Dr. Pimple Popper noticed this when she began to treat Ken. She first numbed his cysts with an injectable solution, then sliced through the center of a golf ball-sized one near the back of his head.
She pressed gently near the incision, and thin-looking blood and yellow pus trickled out. According to Lee, this was a telltale sign he had "manhandled" the growths at home.
Dr. Pimple Popper discovered Ken had a cyst within a cyst
Fortunately, Dr. Pimple Popper was able to locate the cyst's inner sac, which she needed to remove to prevent further growth.
She was able to stitch up the incision and cut open the next cyst, which ended up being two growths in one.
According to Lee, Ken's DIY treatment caused a proliferating pilar cyst, or an inflamed cyst that grows another cyst next to it.
"He's a booger, let me tell you," Dr. Pimple Popper said when she saw the growth's two sacs. Still, she was able to remove both growths and stitch up Ken.
A few incisions, squeezes, and squirts later, and Dr. Pimple Popper successfully removed three of Ken's seven cysts.
Ken said he's excited to get back to the gym and his job.