Confidence is key.
Drs. Paul Nassif and Terry Dubrow have their hands full (literally) with new patient Donnie, who has been hiding his stomach since a devastating car accident eight years ago. The 27-year-old construction worker survived a "barrel rolled and flipped" vehicle but was left with an asymmetrical torso. "My left side looks like a big bull shark came up and just took a big ol' bite right out of it," Donnie joked.
Yet his injury causes pain while on job sites: From his tool belt buckle chafing the area to a lack of confidence with his shirt off, Donnie is still suffering from the aftermath of the accident. "It's almost unbearable," Donnie said. "It was the worst day of my life. My life changed just like that."
Donnie doesn't remember much of the accident itself. "I just remember when I looked down, it reminded me of like seeing diamonds sparkling," Donnie recalled. "There was so much glass and debris stuck in my side, and the blood obviously going down."
He was in the hospital for two weeks and underwent two emergency surgeries but was still left with a "huge gaping hole" that traumatically impacted his daily life since.
"I was just completely shocked. It was hard for me to believe they could leave somebody like that," Donnie stated through tears. "I lost a lot of confidence. I was just broken."
Donnie's love life has also been affected by the crash, and he worried that he would "never able to get a girlfriend again," while fearful to be out in public shirtless. "People stare at my like I'm an alien," he admitted.
Donnie was hopeful that Drs. Nassif and Dubrow could fix it. "I want to be happy again, how I used to be," Donnie pleaded. "I think they're probably the only attempt that I have to get my life back.
During the consultation, Dr. Dubrow explained that there are two options to treat Donnie: Either take the past skin graft off that was constructed with skin from Donnie's thigh and try to "bring the skin edges together," or operate on his entire abdominal wall to match his other, non-injured side. "It's a tummy tuck on a guy," Dubrow explained, but warned there is a higher risk of complications. "If you want to do the whole thing, I'm there for you," he concluded.
Yet separately Dubrow admitted his own fears of operating. "Donnie's anatomical situation is actually very complex and I won't know what the anatomy is until I get in there and remove the skin graft...It's a complicated problem that I'm sort of having difficulty wrapping my brain around," he said. "Even if you're able to fix the left side, what is going to look like relative to the right side? Do we need to do something to the right side?"
Eventually Donnie opts for the tummy tuck with hope for his torso to be symmetrical. "This could really be something great for me," he added.
The surgery is a success—and even Dr. Nassif has to applaud Dr. Dubrow's skills under the knife. "I must say, Terry really did knock it out of the park," Nassif said, calling Donnie's operation one of the "top two" procedures they're ever done. "This is a new technique, I've never seen it before. Very innovative. Well done, Terry."
Donnie is beyond excited for his new life post-operation. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh Dr. Dubrow. You're amazing, man," Donnie smiled. "I cannot even believe it. You really can't even tell that something was there before. I'm shocked, I'm at a loss of words."
Donnie is ready to get back to "being the old me again," and viewers get a glimpse of what exactly that looks like. Donnie is now on the beach, shirtless, throwing a football, with no shark story in sight. Donnie's beach bod—and his confidence—is back!
The episode also covers a breast reshaping procedure for an influencer looking to hone her "Coke bottle shape," and a nose operation on a woman with lupus.
Watch the recap above for more reveals and see the shocking episode here, and binge past seasons of Botched on Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are both a part of the NBCUniversal family.)