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00:00The following program contains medical procedures and treatments involving dermatology. Viewer
00:04discretion is advised. I'm Dr. Sandra Lee aka Dr. Pimple Popper. Pretty sure that was the coolest
00:10thing I've ever seen. Come break out with me and all my new patients. Plus I'll share my expertise
00:16with some amazing young dermatologists. Pimple popping is not taught in residency. We'll see
00:22how they break out, seeing things they have never seen, and of course seeing how they pop.
00:27I can't believe it's not butter. On Dr. Pimple Popper Breaking Out.
00:37Tonight on Dr. Pimple Popper Breaking Out. The bumps feel like pebbles under the skin. Squishy on the
00:43outside of it. Texture of silly putty I would say. I have white patches all over my body. They're
00:49very sensitive. Just the sharp shooting pain. I've tried to pop it with my fingers and countertops and
00:54books. I've had friends try to cut it open. If you see my hand, it's totally white. In a black
01:00woman, that's very devastating. I've had little kids come up to me and ask their moms like, what the heck
01:06are
01:07those? They're like Boston baked beans. I like to call these like an egg yolk. So we're gonna crack it
01:14open. Have you ever been looked at with a wood slam? It will make more stark some of the areas.
01:20They're lipids. They're like sort of like bacon and oil. They'll melt.
01:35So are you ready for this? I guess. Be excited. My name is Lance and I have a bump in
01:41my head named
01:42Bartholomew. What's the size of a golf ball? Texture of silly putty I would say is what it feels like.
01:49Maybe play-doh? Play-doh too. Yeah, that's a good one. It doesn't really hurt ever. Only when I pick
01:54at it.
01:54Why would you pick at it? Because I don't like it. I have known Lance for what 20 years now.
02:02We met in high school.
02:04We shared the love of hip-hop, mostly Wu-Tang. Wu-Tang is for the kids.
02:14Him and a couple of our other friends were in a rap group. I started freestyling in high
02:19school like junior year. They were really good. I stopped rapping a long time ago because I feel
02:24insecure. Good morning. I had to see Dr. Lee. And your name? Lance. Okay. You can go ahead and sign
02:29in
02:29right there please. Okay. Never gone to see a doctor about this. I've tried to pop it with my fingers
02:34and
02:34books and knives. I've had friends try to cut it open before too. But it wasn't until she pointed out
02:42that it was so close to my brain. Shouldn't you be worried about that? And she's right. She's always
02:47right. I believe he hasn't seen a doctor mostly because of procrastination but also I do know that
02:54he is a little scared. Lance is now 40 so it is time for him to be taking his health
03:00a lot more seriously.
03:01It's time for a pro to give it a go. Lance? Yes. There might be a little more confidence there
03:10after his bum's gone. Hi. Hello. Hi. Do another show and not feel so self-conscious about things.
03:18Dr. Lee will be in shortly. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you so much. My cyst is the gist.
03:22On my head it festers. Unrest. Have Dr. Lee remove this zit for me? Say less. I insist that you
03:29assist
03:30in removing this cyst because I can't keep going on with life like this. Peace.
03:43Hi Dr. Lee. Hey. How are you? Dr. Lindsay is a smart young dermatologist. She is really interested
03:51in surgeries but hasn't had as much experience doing some of these complex cases. I've seen a lot
03:56of bumps in my career and this is the knowledge that I want to pass on to people because this
04:00is
04:00not taught in dermatology residency or in medical school. Today I have a patient. It's a bump on the
04:06forehead. Bump on the forehead. What it is. I've had that in my charts before. And I've never. Really?
04:13Well that's okay. I do think there's some special things that I feel like I've gained in knowledge
04:18just by taking off a bunch of them. I think this will be fun and interesting. It feels really nice
04:23to have
04:23Dr. Lee alongside me and just the fact that she could take time out and just impart knowledge.
04:29It's incredible. Let's go and see what's going on. Hello. Hi. I'm Dr. Lee. It's very nice to
04:36meet you. What is your name? Lance. Lance. This is also Dr. Lindsay. You've got two dermatologists.
04:41You should grab that chair and you can sit right down next to me. So you found me I guess
04:44because of this
04:45bump that you have on your head. Yes ma'am. How long has that been going on? About 15 years.
04:50Have you ever seen a doctor for it? No. Okay. I have not. May I take a look at it?
04:55Sure. Both of us if you don't mind. Thank you. So I'm just going to feel it. So you can
04:59sort of feel
05:00it. I'll take a feel okay? Mm-hmm. Is it tender if I press? Not only because I was picking
05:05at it the other day.
05:06I see a lot of bumps on the forehead. I usually want to feel a bump. If it's very mobile
05:11that's a
05:12good sign. If it's really stuck to a person that means it's probably attached to deeper structures or maybe it's
05:18even bone. And that's not something that is in my wheelhouse. So this could be a cyst. But I think
05:25that this is a lipoma. Okay. A lipoma is a benign collection of fat cells. Of course I'm not going
05:32to know until we get in there. But the main thing that I'm concerned about here is the fact that
05:38it
05:38does bleed a lot. So sometimes there's some bigger vessels there and that's important for us to keep an
05:42eye out. And also that I don't get it all. Because I think if we don't get it all there's
05:47a chance that it
05:47can come back. Yeah. All right. So I'm going to make an incision there. But we hide them along
05:52your forehead lines so that it will just be one of the regular forehead lines. You're going to have
05:55a problem finding any of those. I was like he's got plenty of those. Well okay. So we'll get our
06:00stuff
06:00ready on our side. And we'll be back in just a couple minutes. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
06:07You know we have a lot of faith in Dr. Lee and that she will be able to help us.
06:12But if Dr. Lee is
06:13unable to help him with this then I will be frustrated because then it will show that this
06:19was obviously something that needed to be taken care of a lot sooner and he waited too long.
06:32Can you raise your eyebrows up for me? Okay relax again. And what are you looking for there?
06:38His horizontal creases where it naturally would be right here. So this is probably what we're going
06:46to do. In the forehead in particular you want to hide a excision scar along our natural forehead
06:52creases. Planning in advance is the key to seamless surgery. So I'm going to put some numbing right
06:57there okay? All right. Okay a little pinch. Just like that. Just like that. Okay. Just kind of slightly
07:03put a little pressure on there because it's the quickness of administering anesthesia which is
07:09uncomfortable for people. Dr. Lee has great bedside manners. She makes sure that the patient is
07:15comfortable and that's that's really special. And you get our front row seat. You're okay over there
07:19right? I'm about to stand up so I can do better. When there's a good part two I will try
07:23to let you know okay?
07:26Make sure I'm not hurting you okay? Just kind of make our little peek in here. See if you got
07:33like an
07:33orange egg yolk. See how I can pop that out? I'm bracing myself. It's not going to spray on anybody
07:45because
07:45it's not a cyst. It's a lipoma. There's no way that it could spray on anybody. See how I can
07:50watch. If you push against here you can move it up and down in there. You can see you can
07:56shift it.
07:57Oh wow. See I can see it under there. Turns out that it is a lipoma and it doesn't burst.
08:03Lipomas are just a collection of fatty tissue so they don't pop out at you but the thing that can
08:09is blood from blood vessels. This area on the forehead in particular is very vascular so there's a higher
08:15risk of hitting a blood vessel. It's always nice if you can get it out whole or it's stuck to
08:22him.
08:23So I might just try to take it out in pieces.
08:29You're doing awesome.
08:32So I'm always hesitant to you know cut. Probe in the hidden area. Yes.
08:37Which is why as you see I'm pretty much pulling it out away from it.
08:41This is actually an excellent learning opportunity for Dr. Lindsay to see that I'm pulling this
08:47lipoma away from the muscles, from the nerves, from the blood vessels that are down deep because
08:52I don't like to do things blindly.
08:55It's like birthing.
08:57It kind of looks like brains.
08:58You okay?
08:59Mm-hmm.
09:00Got a vessel there?
09:02It looks like it could be so.
09:04We have discovered that there's a pretty significant blood vessel that is feeding this lipoma and that's a problem.
09:22I'm here with Lance and I'm removing this lipoma from his head. It is causing a little trouble with a
09:29pretty significant blood vessel. To be safe I'm using a hemostat that will clamp down this blood vessel to
09:35stop it from oozing temporarily so I can remove the rest of that lipoma.
09:45See how it's a little like a yolk kind of?
09:47So much blood.
09:48It's gone dude.
09:49So I go like this and I pull and I see if I see anything in the corner. See that?
09:53Mm-hmm.
09:54I don't I don't see anything.
09:55I'm pretty sure that was the coolest thing I've ever seen.
09:57Oh really?
09:59I'm so glad that Dr. Lindsay was here.
10:02I think she learned a lot about removing a lipoma on the forehead and the cosmetic
10:06concerns that are involved and I think it gave her confidence to potentially do it on her own.
10:11I'm going to let her finish the stitching up here because she does such a great job.
10:15That's probably like three or four right there.
10:18That is so cool.
10:20It does look like a little brain.
10:21Yes, you want to put a glove on and feel it?
10:24Yes.
10:24Yes.
10:26Yeah, and then you pull that what? Yep, there you go.
10:28Lance, this is your baby.
10:31It's super squishy dude.
10:34Does he get to touch it too?
10:35Of course he does.
10:37Yeah, we're good.
10:38He will touch it.
10:39Don't worry.
10:40I don't want to touch it.
10:42That looks really good.
10:44It looks great.
10:45Yes.
10:46You did great.
10:47You did great.
10:48Well, thank you and it looks really great.
10:51It looks wonderful.
10:52Actually, I could show you what it looks like too.
10:54There it is though.
10:55It is a little puffy around it, but it's just because there's air in there.
10:58So we're going to push down on it.
11:00Okay, but you see how that's going to fit right in your natural like little crease there.
11:04For the past 15 years, I felt like a turtle in his shell.
11:10And now I feel like I don't need that shell anymore.
11:13I'm ready to get back on stage and bust the flow.
11:15If you know, you know, bro.
11:19Okay, nice to see you.
11:20Yes, and nice to meet you too.
11:21It was a pleasure meeting you guys.
11:23Thank you so much for everything.
11:24Okay, bye.
11:25Bye-bye.
11:26It looks amazing.
11:29Yeah.
11:30It's funny how like all those things that I did in my head that I probably made it worse.
11:35I thought I was doing the right things.
11:36Well, you did the right thing this time by coming here.
11:39If it wasn't for her, I would never have gotten this done and I can't thank you enough.
11:46I just want to give you a hug.
11:47Aw, thank you.
11:50I'm glad I was able to be here for him.
11:52I'm glad that he listened to me.
11:55To see him grow up in the sense of taking things a little bit more seriously
11:58is really going to make a huge difference in him feeling confident.
12:03I'm always right.
12:04Always.
12:05No, I'm kidding.
12:06I'm kidding.
12:06I'm always right.
12:23Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.
12:28My name is Shelby.
12:29I'm 30 years old and I live in Orlando, Florida.
12:33And I have bumps all over my elbows and my knees.
12:43I would say that I probably have somewhere near 50 to 100 bumps.
12:49It's essentially like a red ray circle with white dots.
12:53The bumps feel like pebbles under the skin.
12:56They're very itchy.
12:58I've tried to pop them, but no pus, nothing like that.
13:02So my bumps are essentially like giant pimples that don't pop.
13:13I've been doing theater and singing since I was in fifth grade.
13:18It makes me feel happy.
13:19But ever since this condition, I feel like people are staring at me.
13:23And I do want to get back into the theater, but I've not really put myself out there.
13:31Four years ago, they just started appearing.
13:34All of a sudden, I started getting all these clusters.
13:36I went to the dermatologist.
13:38They did a biopsy and they told me that it was eruptive xanomatosis.
13:44They just said it's essentially due to my type 2 diabetes.
13:50I feel so defeated.
13:57I might get a piece of cake.
13:59Okay, let's see what they have.
14:02Kyle and I started dating about six years ago.
14:05We are big time Orlando foodies, so we love going out for snacks and food and sweets.
14:12Oh, I think we want to get some dessert.
14:15They all look really good.
14:18Even though I do have diabetes, I cheat on occasion and have cookies or candy.
14:23It's always been a guilty pleasure for me.
14:27I think I'm going to go with the chocolate mousse.
14:29Which one are you?
14:30Oh, that one does look pretty good.
14:33Maybe one day the wedding cake over there would be your future dessert.
14:39I think I'm going to go with the Neapolitan this time.
14:45It's definitely been very hard because both Kyle and I want to get married,
14:51but it's because of these bumps that I haven't really wanted to make the leap yet.
15:00It definitely makes me nervous that maybe one day he will wake up and just want to date someone normal
15:07and not someone with as much baggage as I have with them.
15:12That's very good.
15:13Oh, yeah.
15:13I'm switching you.
15:17I know that it pains you to be like this.
15:23One day I would like to get married and I would like to have a good life with you.
15:30I mean, I would like that too, but with where things are now, it's not going to happen.
15:43I feel frustrated.
15:45I'm ready to propose to Shelby right now, but I can't because the bumps have been affecting her
15:51self-esteem so much that she's not ready.
15:54I mean, you're my best friend.
15:55I love you so much.
15:57Like you are the absolute world to me and I just, I need to get this taken care of first.
16:04When we first started dating, I didn't have any of these bumps and he's been there with me every
16:10step of the way.
16:11I want to be engaged, but literally I don't want to get pictures or any of that done because
16:20I'm self-conscious about it.
16:22These bumps have to go at this point, but I've been to numerous doctors throughout the years
16:28and they just kind of brush me aside and just tell me it'll get better and it doesn't.
16:33Dr. Lee is pretty much my last option at this point.
16:39Take it back to the beginning.
16:41When life was simple and your heart was pure.
16:45Before the world had a chance to break you.
16:50Beautiful becoming.
16:51Okay guys, guess what?
16:53I got my green juice.
16:54It is part of my resolution to take better care of myself.
16:59I have a condition called atopic dermatitis.
17:02You get it kind of in childhood.
17:03I had really, really bad eczema.
17:05It made me miserable and it made my family miserable because it's very hard to
17:09help somebody that is sort of helpless when you're a little kid like that.
17:12But as you get older, you learn to take care of it.
17:14And I guess what I'm trying to say is that our health is in our own hands.
17:19So take control of it.
17:40It's very nice to meet you.
17:44Where'd you come from?
17:45Um, Florida.
17:46Oh, you came from pretty far from the other side.
17:50What are you here for?
17:51Mainly eruptive xanomatosis.
17:53Oh, okay.
17:54So what do you know about xanthomas?
17:56Uh, that is from my diabetes.
17:58You have diabetes too?
18:00Okay, type one or type two?
18:01Okay, yep.
18:02So your, this looks like xanthomas and they're calling them eruptive because they kind of,
18:10almost like they come up all of a sudden and they tend to occur on like your extensor surfaces,
18:16meaning these are the flexural surface where you flex and then the outside here.
18:20So, um, diabetes can promote this.
18:23Right, right.
18:24It's a disorder of lipids.
18:25The fats are depositing into your skin here, um, and triglycerides and things like that.
18:31Eruptive xanthomas are essentially cholesterol bumps.
18:34Shelby has numerous cholesterol bumps on her elbows and her knees.
18:38They're pretty hard.
18:39They're like little pebbles or sharp stones underneath your skin.
18:42So they're annoying and they're really uncomfortable.
18:45They can be related to diabetes, but they're called cholesterol bumps because they contain
18:50an excess of lipids.
18:52And if you see this, something's going on.
18:55You're either producing too much lipids or fat or you're not getting rid of it sufficiently.
19:01We took a blood panel, right?
19:03Do you know what your triglyceride numbers are?
19:07Oh, wait.
19:08It says here 5,000.
19:105,000?
19:11It definitely could be better.
19:13Yeah, your cholesterol is high.
19:15It's like in the 800s.
19:16Yeah.
19:17Normal triglyceride levels are about 150.
19:19Shelby's are 5,000.
19:22Normal cholesterol levels are 200.
19:25Shelby's are 800.
19:26It really leads to a high risk of stroke, heart disease, heart attack.
19:31The levels need to be taken down, whether it be with changes in her diet, whether it be medications.
19:36I really want to encourage her to get this evaluated and get this fixed.
19:41Sometimes when you see skin findings, it helps us to diagnose something that's going on internally.
19:47I mean, these bumps wouldn't even be there in the first place.
19:50Yeah.
19:51If your cholesterol wasn't so high.
19:54I didn't know that the numbers are very high and I need to get it back under control.
19:59You got to take care of yourself.
20:00That's very important because those are very high levels, you know,
20:03that will really put you at risk for things, not just skin findings.
20:06These bumps are sort of the warning sign.
20:10If she does reduce these numbers, I don't think the existing xanthomas she has are going to shrink
20:15or go away, but she certainly can prevent new ones from coming up.
20:18Let me see this elbow here too.
20:20Is that the worst side?
20:21Yes.
20:22The main issues, they're in bendy areas.
20:24They're in areas of high tension.
20:25Yeah.
20:25When you pull together so you can't do all of them, you have to space them out.
20:31And what I would try to do is maybe excise these two together and then potentially this one here
20:40with a line scar.
20:42This knee, these are small enough.
20:44You might be able to shave some of them down, but you're going to be left with like a star
20:49-shaped scar,
20:50you know, like an open area that's not too deep.
20:53Are you okay with that?
20:54Would you rather hold off on some stuff?
20:55I mean, I've been dealing with them for four years at this point.
20:58So it's like I want them going.
20:59I can't remove all of them because you can't remove too much skin because you won't be able
21:04to bend your elbow.
21:05I do think this is going to make a big difference for Shelby, but the most important thing is that
21:10she addresses her high cholesterol.
21:12If we can do baby steps and try to get you control of more things, I think you'll feel better
21:18about it.
21:19Let's give you a head start too by trying to take off some of these.
21:22Yeah.
21:22And all things positive, moving forward and making things better.
21:27Okay.
21:27Okay.
21:28I appreciate you very much.
21:29I'll see you in a little bit, okay?
21:31Okay.
21:32Of course.
21:33I'm definitely nervous.
21:34I'm very scared of needles, but I'm hoping for a fresh start.
21:44Shelby has a lot of xanthomas on her elbows and her knees and some of them are pretty deep.
21:49I have to excise the skin to get them off, but first I have to numb them.
21:54Okay.
21:55Little baby pincher, okay?
21:56Okay.
21:57Okay.
21:57Just a little baby pincher.
21:58I'm just going to grab you.
21:58I just don't like needles.
22:01That's a thought.
22:02Ooh.
22:03It's all good.
22:04Hey there.
22:04I'm so sorry that I'm poking you.
22:06No, you're good.
22:07You're doing great.
22:07Shelby is very needle nervous and I have to numb a lot of areas.
22:11I'm going to squeeze your knee because that helps to make sure that you don't feel it so much.
22:15Baby pincher.
22:17It's okay.
22:21I'm going to squeeze your knee because that helps to make sure that you don't feel it so much.
22:25Baby pincher.
22:25Get it.
22:26It's okay.
22:29Okay.
22:30I'm here with Shelby who has a lot of these cholesterol bumps on her elbows and her knees.
22:34I'm trying to numb her up with a needle, but we've got to squirm her here and that's really tough
22:39actually when you're trying to numb somebody up with a sharp needle and they jump.
22:43Oh, sorry.
22:44Wait, one punch.
22:46I know one of the best ways to help Shelby through this is really to distract her.
22:51Do you have any pets?
22:53I don't just because we're in an apartment now.
22:57So I would feel bad getting a dog when we're not home most of the time.
23:02Yeah.
23:03It's working.
23:04Shelby seems to be more at ease now.
23:06And I think she's nice and numb and I can remove this patch of skin on her elbow.
23:13Make sure I'm not hurting you, okay?
23:15Okay.
23:17You all right, right?
23:18Yep.
23:19You're doing great.
23:24All right.
23:25You're good.
23:25You're doing great.
23:27You're doing great.
23:30If I don't look at it, that's fine.
23:31Don't look at it.
23:33Got it.
23:35Okay.
23:36I put a couple stitches on that side.
23:39The goal now is to sew up this fish mouth shape.
23:43I've got to use a lot of sutures to really create some strength there because there's
23:47a lot of tension in this area.
23:49Looks good.
23:51Now I got to tackle her right elbow, which has a little bit more complicated distribution.
23:55There's two clusters of xanthomas that I want to remove and they're surrounded by a lot of smaller ones.
24:01Is that okay?
24:02Yeah.
24:05And how do you like Florida?
24:07Um, not a fan of the humidity, but I don't have to deal with the snow and the ice that
24:12I had to deal
24:13with in Kansas.
24:14That's right.
24:15Shelby is doing great.
24:16And as long as I can keep her distracted, I can successfully remove a bunch of these xanthomas.
24:22Putting the stitches in and almost done there.
24:23Okay.
24:25I think it's going to do well.
24:27The tension in here and stuff.
24:30You did great.
24:31Okay.
24:34All right.
24:35I think we'll try to shave some of them on this right knee here.
24:39Okay.
24:39See how those do first.
24:41In this case, I'm going to use a loop electrocautery,
24:44which is like a hot wire that just really slices right through your tissue.
24:47Oh.
24:48I'm going to just do one here first, okay?
24:50Real slow, okay?
24:51Okay.
24:52Mm-hmm.
24:54A little bit of an odor here.
24:55So that's where these are suction.
24:56Yes.
24:57Because they're cholesterol lipids.
24:58They're like sort of like bacon and oil.
25:00They'll melt.
25:01For real.
25:03Because we're dealing with the knee, which has a lot of tension on it,
25:06you can't remove as many xanthomas in the area if you're going to excise it,
25:10because you won't be able to bend your knee.
25:11So the better thing to do here is to shave them off and try to shrink the base.
25:17How are you doing?
25:18Oh, the sigh and the relaxation of your muscles.
25:21I know.
25:21You did great.
25:23Yeah.
25:24Just to recap here, left arm, we remove one.
25:28Mm-hmm.
25:28Right arm, we remove two.
25:30Right knee, we took off the top of them.
25:34I am absolutely elated that the bumps are gone.
25:37The other dermatologists I've seen in the past, a lot of them just send me away without any answers.
25:42I wasn't even sure if they could be removed, so I am so grateful towards Dr. Lee.
25:49I know that that was hard on you.
25:50Yeah.
25:51So you did a great job, but it's kind of a sign.
25:54It's your body telling you that you need to focus on yourself and you'll feel a lot better.
25:58Yeah.
25:59I've been affecting my life more than I possibly realize.
26:01I'm sure the people around you want you to take good care of yourself.
26:04Mm-hmm.
26:05We want you to do that too, okay?
26:06Yes.
26:07Adore you.
26:07Thank goodness that I came to see Dr. Lee.
26:09Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how much of my lifestyle was related to my bumps.
26:14My bumps may be gone, but my journey to a healthier life starts now and all thanks to Dr. Lee.
26:32I like this place.
26:34It's so cute here.
26:37Could you see yourself living in Cali?
26:39Yes.
26:41I could see.
26:43My name is Jonte.
26:44I'm 36 years old.
26:46I'm from Atlanta.
26:47My name's Daria, and I'm Jonte's daughter.
26:51We're here in California because I have Little Lago, which is white patches all over my body.
27:00Around 10 years ago, I noticed on my hand little tiny white spots that almost look like freckles.
27:06I kind of just brushed it off.
27:08I didn't take it serious.
27:10But then those little white spots begin to spread, begin to grow.
27:14And if you see my hand now, you'll see it's totally white.
27:20That's very devastating for me, being a Black woman.
27:23Losing all of your melanin, it makes you feel like you're not a part of your culture.
27:28We need this store in Georgia. This store has everything a person with vitiligo could need.
27:34I definitely think that my mom just doesn't see herself the way that others see her.
27:40I think my mom is very beautiful.
27:43It smells good.
27:44I know.
27:45When I was 18, my dream was to come to LA and to be the supermodel.
27:51I was modeling by nine.
27:54So I just always pictured myself coming to Cali to be the it girl walking down Rodeo or something.
28:04So to be here at 36 and my sole purpose is to see a dermatologist for my skin.
28:10You could have never told me that.
28:11We're looking forward to marriage.
28:13It just helps so that I don't have like really bad breakout.
28:17When it begins spreading, I went to see a dermatologist to try to get some answers.
28:22I was prescribing a gel that I was to put on my skin three times a day, but it didn't
28:27help.
28:28And that's when I began trying to find holistic ways to calm the skin down from having a lot of
28:34inflammation like herbs, oils, things that can help my skin naturally.
28:40It didn't treat it.
28:41It didn't stop it.
28:42I think it just helped me manage it.
28:44Oh, wow.
28:45They have juice.
28:47I'm going to get this one.
28:48We're going to go with this one.
28:50Oh, this looks to America as well.
28:53You need to get somewhere?
28:56Okay.
28:56What juice you looking at?
28:59You.
29:00You looking at me?
29:01I was looking at you.
29:02Oh, okay.
29:04Okay.
29:05Before Vitilago, I was always told you're a pretty girl or, you know, just being hit on.
29:11But after Vitilago, not so much.
29:15You fly.
29:16Oh, I think so.
29:17And so you naturally, you know this.
29:20You know this.
29:21If you and I went out on a date somewhere, what do you think our reaction would be?
29:25There's definitely going to be a lot of desire and desiring eyes.
29:32I get a lot of stares in public.
29:34And a lot of times, it's very hard.
29:37Like, I've been through depression because of it.
29:39I always go to, they're staring because I have Vitilago.
29:42And it could not be that.
29:44But that's just what I always see.
29:47And I know that now, it's like a fashion trend.
29:50With Winnie Harlow being one of the biggest models in the world.
29:54But for me, in everyday life, I do not see it that way.
29:58She walks down the runway.
29:59She gets stared at.
30:01I walk down the aisles at Kroger and I get stared at.
30:05Two totally different things.
30:07I'm still trying to be comfortable with Tay having Vitilago.
30:12What does that look like for me?
30:13Going in the store, going places with you.
30:15I don't want you to feel uncomfortable.
30:18And a lot of times, I feel like you feel uncomfortable
30:20because I feel uncomfortable.
30:22That make sense?
30:24Yeah.
30:24Yeah.
30:25What's wrong?
30:26Why you look sad?
30:27Because I don't want you to talk about yourself like that.
30:31And I'm sorry.
30:33I didn't mean to make you cry.
30:35When I see my mom, I don't see her as just a person with Vitilago.
30:40All I see is my mom and my mom is always going to be beautiful to me no matter what.
30:48I'll be lying if I told you I liked the way I look.
30:52It's not true.
30:53I hate my skin.
30:54You know that.
30:55But see how it's affecting you?
30:57This is why I need answers.
31:15We're here.
31:16I love you.
31:17I know.
31:18I'm entering Dr. Lee's office today with the hope that she can give me something to stop the
31:24spreading and to try to save what little melanin that I have left.
31:29Jonte?
31:30Hi.
31:31All right.
31:32We're going to be right through here.
31:33With Vitilago spreading so rapidly, I'm racing against the clock with this.
31:38This is my last resort.
31:40If Dr. Lee doesn't help me, where else am I going to get help from?
31:45How are you feeling now?
31:47Anxious.
31:52Hello.
31:52Look at these gorgeous people in here.
31:55Hi, how are you?
31:55How are you?
31:57Nice to meet you, Jonte.
31:58I'm Dr. Lee.
31:59You look beautiful, first of all.
32:01Both of you.
32:02Gorgeous.
32:03But I'm guessing...
32:05Don't feel so beautiful.
32:06I'm getting stared walking in Kroger.
32:08Yes.
32:08And I don't like the stairs.
32:09I'm kidding.
32:09So, you have Vitilago, first of all.
32:12Yeah.
32:12When did this start for you?
32:14Nine years ago.
32:15I started seeing little tiny white spots that look like freckles.
32:19Right.
32:19Where did you see those?
32:20On my hands.
32:21Okay, like kind of at the creases and things?
32:23Yes, exactly in the creases.
32:24You have almost full loss of pigment here on your hand.
32:27The little spots I had, they just got bigger and bigger and bigger until what you see now.
32:32Almost like day to day, you can kind of see them expand.
32:34Hour to hour.
32:35Crazy.
32:36I might take a nap and there'll be a small dye by the time I wake up.
32:39It's pretty.
32:40Yeah.
32:41Yeah.
32:41Vitilago is a chronic autoimmune disorder where your own body is attacking your own skin pigment
32:48cells and it's destroying them. And the darker your skin is, the more noticeable
32:52vitiligo is because there's a higher contrast between your normal skin color and a complete
32:58loss of pigment. So what kinds of doctors have you seen for this?
33:02Um, I went to go see the dermatologist originally about nine years ago. They gave me cream
33:06that kind of made it worse. And I haven't been to a dermatologist since.
33:10There's a lot of different treatments for a vitiligo. There have been some recent advances,
33:15but I need to take a look at Jante first and see how extensive her vitiligo is. And I also
33:19want to understand what parts bother her the most. So there's a lot of different things that we try
33:26to improve vitiligo. Um, there are some laser devices that we use that are UV light treatments
33:33that try to tan that skin or trigger that. Um, there's even surgeries. So there are different
33:39things that have certainly been tried. Some work for some people, some don't work for them.
33:44So it's not easy to treat, but have you ever been looked at with a woods lamp?
33:48Have you ever been into like a club where they have that black light? And then do you see how
33:53your skin is like that kind of light helps us to determine whether something has a complete loss
33:59of pigment or not. The reason that I'm using a woods lamp is to determine the extent of her
34:05vitiligo. Sometimes when you use the woods lamp, you see more white patches. So sit tight. I'm going
34:10to go get a woods lamp. Okay. Hold on a minute.
34:12Sounds good. It gives us a starting point. So we know if we treat the areas, whether they're getting
34:18better or not. So I don't want this to depress you or anything. I don't think it should depress you,
34:22but it will make more stark some of the areas. You know what I mean? Like, like you might think
34:27that
34:27this is pretty, like you might see like lighter spots within it. Okay, here we go. Turning the light off.
34:39I'm here with Jonte who has vitiligo and I'm about to look at her skin with the woods lamp. I'm
34:47hoping
34:47that we'll find that there's still some pigment left in some of these areas, but it could do the
34:52opposite. It can highlight areas that she didn't even realize that there's loss of pigment. Let me see your
34:57feet. You can see like complete loss of pigment because if there wasn't, it wouldn't be so white.
35:03Right. Sometimes you may notice an area that is actually pigmenting again and you might not have
35:08seen it before. So look at your hands. This hand, actually this hand, let's see that hand because
35:13that's one had repigment. Yeah. Look at that. Yeah, even here. See? So those are areas that actually
35:20you're probably gaining pigment again or it hasn't been totally lost there. I'm shocked.
35:26I didn't realize my hands had new spots on it because you can't really see with just the naked eye.
35:33But when she put me under the wood light, she was able to point out, hey, you see that is
35:38forming. You
35:39see more brown spots. So your skin is not just totally lost. Oh, I can see even more trying to
35:46come. So that
35:47means my skin is almost trying to repigment. Yes, it is. To be able to magnify and see that on
35:53that light,
35:54it gave me a sense of hope. Maybe I can restore my melanin. Yes. And I think that there's new
35:59medications out there that we, I definitely think we need to try. I just haven't tried anything. Yeah.
36:04So let's get it for you so you can try it. I'm going to give you Ruxalanib. It's a cream
36:09and it's
36:10going to possibly help you with repigmentation. Probably try it, yeah, here on your forehead and
36:15around, but don't put it too close to your eye. You're not supposed to. Okay. Thank you. And it might
36:20not be
36:20something that we can find the answer right away. You know, we might have to try a few times,
36:25but you got to play to win, right? But hopefully we'll hit it in the first try. We're going to
36:28try
36:29a topical medication called Ruxolitinib. What it does is it blocks the inflammatory process. And we've
36:36really seen some success with this medication. So if we can help to improve it and make this less
36:41noticeable, I think that will make her happy. All right. So I cleared out all my samples for you.
36:46We're going to figure things out. Okay. Cause you're beautiful inside and outside for sure.
36:50So many people in here already remarked. They're like, have you seen the last patient? She's just
36:55stunning. She's just gorgeous. She's just beautiful. And you are in both ways. You're
36:59just from your appearance, but also your heart, you know, thank you. I know that's not like what you
37:05want to hear necessarily, but there's, you know what I mean? No, I'm glad because a lot of times
37:09I don't hear that, but it really just made me, it just made my day to talk to you. You're
37:14a strong
37:14woman. I see it. You know, you're going to persist and you're going to do great whatever you do,
37:19but let's see if we can help you along and feel better. This was a start. Yes. Today was the
37:24first day. Yes. Let's say day one. That's right. That's right. Yeah. All right. Okay. Beautiful.
37:29Thank you. Give me a hug. Thank you. I'm feeling hopeful after my visit with Dr. Lee. We'll be in
37:35touch.
37:35Okay. So never stop keeping the faith. Hold on. Oh, I'm leaving today actually being able to see
37:44myself in a different light, being able to see my imperfections, but also being able to see that
37:50I'm actually perfectly imperfect. Oh, that was good. It's really nice to hear her talk about herself
37:58and a very positive light. I did not come in here with that expectation of,
38:03I'm going to walk out here feeling better about myself, feeling better about my condition
38:07and have some hope for treatment. I'm excited about the future. Now I'm excited about next week,
38:13next month, next year.
38:26When John Tay came to my office three months ago, I prescribed her a new topical vitiligo treatment
38:32that we were hopeful would work. Since then, her skin has made an incredible transformation.
38:38I'm even shocked at how fast and how effective this has been.
38:41As you can see, I have made so much of a progression with my skin.
38:45It's getting better and better by the day. I have been more confident.
38:50I have been out more and just enjoying myself.
38:54Not only does she look great, but she feels as beautiful as she looks.
39:00I'm just super, super grateful and happy.
39:04Congratulations, John Tay. I look forward to seeing even more progress. You are beautiful.
39:12Hey, it's Lance. Check it out. No hat.
39:15It's been three months since I saw Lance in his forehead lipoma.
39:18His scar has healed up beautifully and settled right into the natural lines of his face,
39:23just like I planned. He's moving forward with his life and career,
39:27and I don't think he'll ever stop rhyming and stealing.
39:30Here's the recap. As you can see, no cap. Toes tap because the dome's flat because the DPP.
39:37My flow is back. No slack. I'm on track. Oh, yes, NDD. It's fact. I feel the impact.
39:43Thank you, Dr. Lee, for helping me finally get my life back.
39:47Looking good, Lance.
39:51Take me out to the candy store. Take me out for some treats.
39:57So it's been about three months since Dr. Lee removed my xanthomas, and I'm feeling great.
40:05The bumps that were there before were really painful, and now they're feeling so much better.
40:10I think I'm going to do the Mediterranean salad.
40:13Dr. Lee taught me so much about my condition. I had no idea that my blood numbers were that high
40:18in causing the condition. It was a real wake-up call.
40:22Yeah, seeing those triglyceride numbers, it really got me scared, and I mean, salads really aren't that bad.
40:29Thanks to Dr. Lee, I am more motivated to get my triglycerides and my cholesterol down.
40:34I'm so grateful that Dr. Lee was able to help me. I feel like my elbow and my knee, too,
40:39is looking a lot better.
40:41I have seen a lot of changes in Shelby's. He's more outgoing, more energetic.
40:49Hi. I really like the three. I think I definitely want the gold.
40:55We're not officially engaged yet, but with a lot of my bumps gone, we're moving in that direction.
41:01I'm definitely excited to see where things go from here.
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