This woman’s horrifying skin growths shows what happens when ear piercing infections go wrong
GETTING your ears pierced is a pretty low-key procedure.
Heck, little girls pop into Claire’s Accessories to have tiny holes punctured into their ear lobes.
But sometimes, piercings can go wrong – particularly if they become infected.
Take Jennifer, for example.
She got her ears pierced 11 years ago after which painful, heavy bumps started to grow.
Jennifer, 29, from Philadelphia, USA, went to see Dr Pimple Popper, complaining: “They are incredibly painful and incredibly heavy.
“They cause headaches. I’m worried they are going to get bigger…I worry about being ridiculed and mocked.”
The cosplayer went to see Dr Sandra Lee (AKA Pimple Popper) after other doctors told her that they couldn’t help.
Dr Lee diagnosed Jennifer with extreme keloids and warned that not only might her ears not look “normal” after surgery, but the scars might just grow back.
Surgery wasn’t a straight forward process; she had to remove more ear tissue that she originally planned to and had to use a skin graft to reshape Jennifer’s left ear.
“They’re probably the biggest keloids I’ve ever seen,” said Dr Lee.
“I had to take off more of the ear than expected.
“After removal, the four keloids weighed nearly 14 ounces (28g).
Jennifer has now had radiation therapy to try to stop the keloids from returning.
She said: “Everything has changed for the better. No more headaches, no more vertigo.
“I don’t need to hide. Dr Lee gave me a future. She pretty much saved me”
It’s not the first time that Dr Pimple Popper has had to deal with excessive keloid scars.
Last year, 29-year-old Amber turned up to her surgery to remove similar lumps.
What are keloid scars?
People get keloids when they scratch, cut or injure their skin and the scar does not stop growing once the wound has healed.
The scars affect around 10 to 15 per cent of all wounds, and some may grow extremely large over time.
The most common keloids happen on ears but they can pop up anywhere.
Acne can cause them or small surgeries, which is awkward because having them removed can cause them to grow back.
They’re also more likely to develop if you’ve got darker skin and if other members of your family have them.
Keloid scars are shiny and hairless and they tend to turn browner as you get older.
They affect around 11 million people worldwide.
MORE ON HEALTH
Again, Amber’s keloids started growing two weeks after getting her ears pierced.
They soon grew to the size of grapes and Amber was forced to wear a headband to cover them up.
Fortunately, Dr Lee managed to snip off her scars with few complications.
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