Getting it off his chest.
On tonight's Botched, which aired on July 6, Drs. Terry Dubrow and Paul Nassif come face-to-face with a surfers' out-of-this-world story. Bruno, a lifelong surfer and a famed award-winning professional, has been suffering from two mysterious bumps since first riding a wave. By age 13, Bruno's bumps started to form into large masses and surfing has been painful for the Portuguese pro ever since.
"I don't want [the bumps] to develop into something more serious that could take me out of the water forever," Bruno opened up before meeting the Botched docs with his wife Sara.
Dr. Dubrow dubbed Bruno's ailment a "medical mystery" upon inspection. "He's got these two mass-like structures," Dubrow explained, pointing to Bruno's upper abdomen. Yet CT scans didn't solve what was behind the bumps.
The doctors voiced their thoughts of "differential diagnoses" for Bruno, from most likely to least likely causes of the lumps. The surfer shared that he even tried liposuction 20 years ago, but there wasn't any change. While Dr. Nassif believed the bumps may be fatty tumors, Dr. Dubrow had a different idea: paradoxical fat.
"There's this phenomenon when it comes to fat," Dubrow stated, citing fat-freezing treatments like cryolipolysis and coolsculpting. "My theory is that all of the trauma that Bruno's chest has sustained from surfing has caused the masses in his chest."
Dr. Nassif agreed, "These masses feel like balls of fat. I've never seen anything like this before."
According to Dr. Dubrow, what should have reduced fat instead led to a "more rare form of paradoxical increase in the amount of tissue" on Bruno's chest. "It's very unusual and very interesting," Dubrow added.
Yet, Dr. Nassif pointed out that liposuction should have worked to decrease the bumps if that were the case. Dr. Dubrow ultimately suggested a tummy tuck for Bruno to "lift it up and take the whole thing out" before pulling down the excess skin surrounding the masses.
Bruno said with a laugh, "I never imagined I would get a tummy tuck!"
The Botched doctors also suggested getting a pathology sample during the procedure to confirm Bruno's bumps were cancer-free.
Post-surgery, Bruno was elated with the cosmetic results. "Just seeing myself with no bumps, it looks better," he gushed. "It looks normal. I was waiting 35 years for this day."
But Dr. Dubrow had to tell Bruno exactly what was inside him all those years: "bizarre" masses that were growing like "barnacles."
Dr. Nassif commented, "It looks like coral. That's freakin' weird." Seems like Bruno's body absorbed part of ocean-life from all his surfing!
However, the odd growths only added to Bruno's worry of cancer. "I'm super anxious that there was some real weird stuff inside," Bruno admitted. "Now we know that this is very possible."
Thankfully, Bruno's sample came back negative. "It showed that the masses were an overgrowth of fatty cells," Bruno reported to the camera later with his health update. "Dr. Dubrow was best, and the best part is no cancer, thank God. So the mystery is finally solved, and hopefully there will be a lot of surfing trips in my future."
Bruno even felt "more connected with the ocean" after being able to now surf without pain.
"You look like a skinny bitch now!" Bruno's surfing partner, wife Sara, joked.
Bruno has his eyes on the future: "I can now return to the sport I love. They changed my life for the better."
Dubrow and Nassif later operated on a real estate agent who was hoping for the perfect nose, and met with a "stacked and racked" female bodybuilder who prided herself on her "muscular plastic" physique. Dr. Nassif also received a special visit from baby Paulina, who was wearing a pun-esie that hilariously read, "My daddy nose more than Terry."
Watch the full episode here, and binge past seasons of Botched on Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are both a part of the NBCUniversal family.)