East2West NewsA Russian ‘bodybuilder’ whose oil-injected biceps earned him the nickname ‘Popeye’ has had to have surgery in order to save his arms.
Kirill Tereshin, 23, injected three litres of oil into his arms in order to achieve the look of huge, swollen muscles.
However, he had gone to such extreme lengths he was told he could die or face amputation if he failed to get rid of his fake biceps.
See what happened during Tereshin’s visit to hospital here:
The 23-year-old, who is also an MMA fighter, was persuaded to undergo urgent treatment by Alana Mamaeva, a leading campaigner for victims of botched plastic surgery.
Tereshin explained how his big arms began, saying:
When I finished military service, I began to transform myself and did everything at home. My mum was very worried about what I was doing, but we are okay now that she knows synthol can be removed.
In the beginning, I wanted to inject synthol oil into other parts of my body, but then the problems started and I stopped using it.
East2West NewsMamaeva assisted Tereshin in fundraising for the surgery and went with him to hospital, where she described how his artificial muscles were ‘horrible, horrible’ compared to his ‘slim’ body.
In the above video, the ‘bodybuilder’ could be heard saying he is ‘ready’ and ‘not afraid’ for the surgery.
The two-hour operation was performed by Surgeon Dmitry Melnikov, who found Tereshin had actually used a cheap Vaseline-like jelly to make his arms bigger – not the enhancement oil synthol, as the 23-year-old previously claimed to have used.
East2West NewsThe doctor explained petroleum jelly saturates ‘the muscles, under skin tissues and the skin itself’.
Speaking of the surgery, Dr. Melnikov continued:
Petroleum jelly is not designed for injection, only external application. 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.
East2West NewsDr Melnikov went on to say Tereshin was lucky the damage had remained only in his limbs because petroleum jelly can ‘affect the whole body, kidneys in particular’.
Though the first operation is out of the way, he has ‘several more surgeries’ still to come.
The surgeon added:
I think Kirill did not fully realise the consequences of what he had been doing.
Footage show’s Tereshin’s mother spoon-feeding him in hospital after the surgery.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.