New Delhi / Russian Bodybuilder Forced to Surgically Remove Fake 24-inch oil injected 'Popeye Biceps'

Kirill Tereshin, a 23-year-old Russian bodybuilder who had 24-inch oil-injected biceps -- much like the cartoon character Popeye -- has had surgery to get them removed.

The bodybuilder was told by doctors that he will face death or loss of his arms, if he failed to rid the fake muscles filled with petroleum jelly, reported The Sun.

Alana Mamaeva, a campaigner for victims of botched plastic surgery, convinced Tereshin to opt for surgery, the report added. She even helped raise funds for the much needed surgery.

According to surgeon Dmitry Melnikov, Kirill had injected three litres of a cheap Vaseline-like jelly instead of synthol as he had earlier claimed, the report revealed.

Synthol is enhancement oil that is injected by bodybuilders to create larger bulges.

The report cited Doctor Melnikov as saying that he has removed the damaged tissues from one of Tereshin's arm as of now.

“Kirill injected about three litres into each arm. It saturated the muscle tissues, blocked blood flow. As a result the tissue dies and gets replaced with a scar which is as tough as a tree, you can even knock on it and hear the usual sound. We have removed all this. He had high fever, strong pain, and weakness,” Dr. Melnikov was quoted as saying.

Dr. Melnikov further added that petroleum jelly affects the whole body of a person, especially the kidneys. According to him, petroleum jelly is not designed for injection but only external application.

According to the report, the doctor said that Tereshin had to face a complex two-hour operation and still needs quite a few more surgeries.