Caspar BensonGetty Images
• In a new YouTube video, Dr. Pimple Popper removes a cyst from a patient’s back using a method that punches out tissue to reach the cyst.
• Dr. Lee uses the punch method because the skin on the back is some of the thickest skin on the body, making excising cysts difficult with just a scalpel.
• After popping out some of the cyst’s content with a squeeze, Dr. Lee uses a curette to scrape out the rest.
In a new Youtube video, Dr. Pimple Popper — aka, dermatologist and TLC host Dr. Sandra Lee, MD—removes a small cyst from a patient’s back using a method rarely seen in her videos.
Dr. Lee explains in the video that because the back has some of the thickest skin on the body, she must punch a five millimeter hole into the skin to get to the cyst effectively. After using a tool to punch a round hole into the middle of the cyst, Dr. Lee is able to squeeze out some of the contents. But the stubborn cyst still isn’t completely excised from a forceful squeeze alone. To remove the rest of the cyst’s contents and the cyst’s sac wall, Dr. Pimple Popper uses a curette, a surgical tool used to scrape debris out of a wound.
This cyst is especially troublesome for Dr. Lee, with the thin sac wall tearing upon excision. As many Dr. Pimple Popper watchers know, removing all of a cyst’s sac wall is essential, as it decreases the chance it will return. This is why the ever-skillful Dr. Lee takes time to thoroughly remove the challenging tissue. Eventually, Dr. Lee is victorious over the cyst, stitching up the patient up and send him on his way.
The cyst featured in this video is likely an epidermoid cyst, which is often filled with skin cells and keratin. This type of cyst commonly occurs on the back and often have a visible blackhead at the center of the cyst, as it does in this case.
Watch the video here:
Season 3 of Dr. Pimple Popper will return to TLC later this year.