Warning: This article contains graphic images and video
Surgeons have removed huge lumps of petroleum jelly and 'dead muscle' from the arms of the Russian bodybuilder nicknamed 'Popeye'.
Internet sensation Kirill Tereshin, more commonly known as 'Popeye' because of the size of his enormous arms, underwent a two-hour operation to have the poisonous substance removed from his body after it left him in pain and suffering from a high fever.
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The surgery comes after doctors warned the 23-year-old that he'd die or face amputation if he failed to get rid of the huge implants in his arms.
But despite around three pounds having been removed, surgeon Dmitry Melnikov says he is only a quarter of the way through extracting the Vaseline-like jelly the 'bodybuilder' had injected to bulk-up his triceps and biceps.
Holding the lump taken from one of Tereshin's arm, he said: "Here it is, scar tissue with fragments of muscles."
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According to reports, Tereshin will have to undergo at least three more operations to remove the rest of the jelly.
The surgery came after Russian television personality and campaigner against botched plastic surgery, Alana Mamaeva, 32, got involved.
In a video released by Mamaeva, a concerned Tereshin can be seen asking the surgeon: "How many muscles have I lost?""
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Melnikov, from Sechenov Moscow State Medical University, earlier warned him that he could die if the cheap implant was not removed.
Following the operation, the surgeon told him: "We cannot choose in your case, I tried to explain this to you.
"Because the problem is that this is the petroleum jelly. You injected this so thoroughly, that it spread in the muscle and killed it.
"It was dead anyway."
He added: "We have done 25 percent of the repairs."
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Mamaeva was seen in a pre-surgery video calling him by his Russian nickname 'Bazooka', and describing how his artificial muscles were 'horrible' compared to his naturally slim body.
The campaigner, who raised funds for his surgery, said: "We are going to try and help this young man."
Prior to going into the operating theatre, former soldier Tereshin told the presenter: "I am ready, I am even not afraid."
Explaining the severity of Tereshin's case, Dr Melnikov said: "Petroleum jelly saturates the muscles, under skin tissues and the skin itself.
"All that has to be removed, but we need to keep the vein, nerves, and other functions of the limb."
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He warned: "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."
The disastrous implants were causing Tereshin to suffer 'high fever, strong pain, and weakness'.
And Dr Melnikov said he was 'lucky' that the damage had not spread to the rest of his body.
He added: "Petroleum jelly affects the whole body, kidneys in particular. I think Kirill did not fully realise the consequences of what he had been doing."
Featured Image Credit: east2westTopics: Interesting, Weird, Health, Russia