Jennifer was 29 and had been living for nearly 11 years with something no one should have to carry on their ears.
It all started with cartilage piercings that didn’t heal properly and became infected. What followed wasn’t an endless infection, but something more insidious: her body began producing scar tissue uncontrollably, until four keloids formed, two on each ear.
Over time, they grew to the size of a golf ball, and it wasn’t just a cosmetic issue: she suffered from pain, itching, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and even lost some of her hearing.
It was dermatologist Sandra Lee, the famous Dr. Pimple Popper, who removed all four masses in the season 3 premiere of her show. One was so large that she had to remove more of the ear than planned, and one of them required a skin graft.
On the other ear, she discovered that what looked like a single mass was actually two. When they were weighed: 397 grams. To keep them from growing back, Jennifer received superficial radiation therapy, and a month later she no longer had dizziness or headaches and could wear headphones again.
