For over 20 years, 32-year-old Traci has been living with severe, fleshy bumps all over her face. Having had the bumps from a young age, her condition worsened considerably when she hit puberty, spreading to her nose and forehead.
Making matters worse, Traci admits that her attempts to seek medical advice haven’t been productive.
She reveals in the brand new episode of Dr Pimple Popper, which airs tonight at 10pm on TLC: “I had a specialist that I went to, I really wasn’t very pleased about it.
“He said he got 90 per cent of them but I’ve got a scar across here [her forehead] and it doesn’t look like he touched anything.”
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As a result, Traci struggles with her confidence, saying: “I really try to be outgoing but it’s all a show, because I just want to cover up.
She admitted: “I feel like I’m constantly being judged.”
Having lived with lumps for most of her life, Traci reveals that the bumps made going to school particularly difficult, and that she suffered from bullying as a result of her appearance, which stills affects her deeply to this day.
“In about the eighth grade I got dubbed ‘crater face’ by the school bully, that’s when everything took a toll,” an emotional Traci reveals.
“Words are really deep-seeded, you sit and dwell on them and they take hold of your life. I don’t feel beautiful in any way shape or form.”
Traci’s insecurities are so severe that she struggles to believe her husband when he compliments her.
She says: “He tells me all the time how beautiful I am, and I just think he’s crazy.”
At the end of her tether, Traci makes the trip from Idaho to California to visit dermatological surgeon Dr Sandra Lee, aka Dr Pimple Popper, to see if she can help get rid of the bumps once and for all.
A bundle of nerves, Traci is escorted into Dr Lee’s office where she sits in the surgery chair for her consultation.
Taking one look at Traci’s face, Dr Lee already has a good idea what the bumps are.
“I see all these flesh colour bumps on her face, but I really pay attention to the distribution of the bumps,” Dr Lee says, before offering her spot diagnosis: Trichoepitheliomas; firm and rubbery bumps that can occur in tightly packed concentrations on the skin.
The bad news for Traci is that there is no quick fix for this condition, and it can take multiple sessions to see a difference.
But the good news is that Dr Lee is ready to start straight away, helping to remove the bigger lumps and flatten down the skin on Traci’s face.
Lying down on the operating table, Traci is then given a local anaesthetic to numb her face.
All ready to go, Dr Lee methodically starts slicing, cutting and snipping away at the lumps, carefully removing them.
It’s a messy procedure, leaving bloody blemishes on Traci’s skin as Dr Lee works her way down her face.
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With the bulk of the big bumps removed, Dr Lee starts smoothing out the affected area by using a CO2 laser, which finely burns away at the raised patches of Traci’s skin. But, as Dr Lee admits, the laser is not for the feint hearted!
“It is painful. The laser is like a beam of heat that is boring a hole into you. It’s not comfortable,” she says.
All finished up, Dr Lee salutes Traci’s bravery and despite leaving looking worse for wear, Traci is hopeful that the short-term pain will mean long-term gain.
“That is already a night and day difference,” an emotional Traci says, looking into the mirror post-surgery.
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Overwhelmed, Traci cannot thank Dr Lee enough. “I can’t even express how grateful I am for what she was willing to do to help me,” she says tearfully.
“I think finally I’m at a point where I can let the past be in the past and start fresh and new.”
Fast forward a couple of months and a second round of treatment later, Traci looks and feels like a new person.
“Holy moly, I almost don’t have the words to articulate right now just how incredible I feel and how much better I look!” she says. “I’ve never felt beautiful until now!”
The new series of Dr Pimple Popper premieres at 10pm tonight exclusively on TLC.
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