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A 23-year-old dubbed the Russian “Popeye” had three pounds of dead muscle removed after his DIY bodybuilding injections went awry.

Kirill Tereshin used petroleum jelly to build fake muscle mass in his arms. Before he underwent critical surgery, his arms were approximately 24 inches in diameter.

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Tereshin’s surgeon, Dr. Dmitry Melnikov, shared a series of photos and videos of his client’s surgical procedures, referring to his arms as “Bazooka Hands.” [Ed. Note: Graphic content at the preceding link may not be suitable for all readers.]

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The Russian doctor, who specializes in correcting botched procedures, wrote in the caption that when petroleum jelly is injected into the body, it “resembles a large burn,” meaning all the tissue dies and is replaced by scars.

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“The removal of the ‘bazooka’ becomes a very risky operation,” he continued. “All functionally important nerves and arteries are woven into a ball of scars and oil, but there is simply no surgical layer.”

Tereshin underwent the first of potentially three surgeries two weeks ago, the doctor told Global News. He added that the gap between followup surgeries will be three and five months.

“The next will be the back side of the right hand,” he said. “Then we come back to biceps in the left hand and back again to the right.”

Plastic surgery activist Alana Mamaeva helped support Tereshin throughout his medical journey.

The patient has undergone the first of potentially three surgeries to remove the scar tissue. drmelnikov_professional/Instagram

Mamaeva helped fund-raise for Tereshin’s necessary procedure at Sechenov Moscow State Medical University.

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“Why did people even think of injecting [petroleum jelly] into themselves? I don’t know,” Melnikov wrote. “But I know for sure that over the past 5 years the number of [petroleum jelly] victims has not decreased, but only increased. And this is a very sad statistic.”

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Melnikov said his client must’ve injected at least three litres of the substance into his body, leaving 75 per cent of the area as scar tissue.

The patient is a bodybuilding influencer on Instagram who has amassed more than 200,000 followers. Currently, his social media page is private.

The 32-year-old Mamaeva also shared a recount of the story, too, sharing graphic video footage of the removal of the three-pound mass from one of Tereshin’s arms. [Ed. Note: Graphic content at the preceding link may not be suitable for all readers.]

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meaghan.wray@globalnews.ca