A man who has already had 23 surgeries to look like Superman has been refused more after injecting himself with ‘poisonous’ ab-fillers.

Herbert Chavez, from Calamba City in the Philippines, has already undergone nose jobs, skin-whitening, liposuction, jaw realignment and fillers over the course of 18 years to make himself look like Clark Kent.

The 37-year-old even wears bright blue contacts to change his eye colour from brown, after falling in love with the TV programme aged five.

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Is it a bird?: Herbert Chavez, 37, from the Philippines, has been refused further surgery after injecting himself with illegal fillers in pursuit of Superman's 'abs of steel'

He has spent more than 300,000 Pesos (£4,400) on his obsession, which is a fortune compared to the average 90p hourly wage in the Philippines.

Mr Chavez now wants doctors to give him the superhero’s famous ‘abs of steel’, but they refused after discovering Mr Chavez has been injecting himself with illegal fillers.

Dr Terry Dubrow and Dr Paul Nassif were horrified to find that Mr Chavez had been injecting his abs and chest with a filler-type product called MesoLipo, which is illegal in the U.S.

The superhero fanatic had been left with spots and bumps all over his body.

Doctors warned him that the risk of surgery was made even greater due to the ‘poison’ he had been injecting, and far outweighed the benefits of the procedure.

'Poison': Doctors told Mr Chavez that he would not be allowed surgery on his abs, after he injected himself with illegal fillers that the doctors described as 'poison'

Damaged: The superhero wannabe was left with lumps covering his torso after injecting himself with ab-fillers

‘This Superman needs to get into the gym,’ said Dr Dubrow.

‘Abs of steel should be gained by exercising and eating right.’

But Mr Chavez admitted ‘I do like to eat chocolate,’ before saying he was ‘disappointed’ that they would not carry out the surgery.

New identity: A before and after shot comparing what Mr Chavez looked like before the operations compared to his transformation, following numerous surgeries including liposuction, skin-whitening and nose jobs

Hero: Herbert Chavez, 37, strikes a pose which would make his idol, Clark Kent, proud. But doctors have said he needs to hit the gym if he wants the superhero's muscles

Mirror image: Comic book character Clark Kent has been the idol of Mr Chavez since he fell in love with the TV programme aged five

Of his surgery, Mr Chavez said: 'I totally don't have any regrets. What is there for me to regret? Everything that has happened in my life has been positive and because of Superman.

'When my body says it can not endure it anymore or when my doctor says that my body can not handle it because of age, then I will stop.'

Mr Chavez has featured in the Guinness Book of Records for the past three years, for owning the largest collection of Superman memorabilia in the world.

No regrets: Mr Chaves insisted that he doesn't regret any of his operations, and that everything that has happened in his life has been positive and because of Superman

Childhood: Mr Chavez's obsession began when he fell in love with the comic book character as a child. He has spent 18 years transforming himself into the character with plastic surgery

When he entered the record book in February 2012 he was recognised as having more than 1,253 items, ranging from life-size dolls, to posters and rings worth thousands of pounds.

However, he insists that he actually has more than 5,000 items and plans to extend the collection to around 10,000 pieces.