'Popeye' has 3 pounds of 'dead' muscle removed after DIY bodybuilding injections

quote:

---

A 23-year-old bodybuilder in Russia, who has been nicknamed “Popeye” due to his abnormally large biceps, has recently undergone the first of at least three surgeries to remove roughly 3 pounds of “dead” muscle tissue after he injected a dangerous enhancement substance — Synthol — into his biceps and triceps.

Kirill Tereshin used “petroleum jelly” injections, or Synthol oil, to enhance the size of his arms, which, before surgery, were said to be 24-inch around, the New York Post reported.

---

quote:

---

“It saturated the muscle tissues, blocked blood flow,” Melnikov said, according to the Post. “As a result, the tissue dies and gets replaced with a scar which is as tough as a tree.”

He added: “We have seen petroleum jelly injected into breasts, buttocks and other parts of the female body,” he said. “We are warning that it is extremely dangerous.”

---

quote:

---

The substance, which is most often used in the triceps, biceps, deltoids and calf muscles, has “some serious drawbacks,” per the review. Most obviously, the substance can cause muscles to become abnormally shaped, but “The side effects of Synthol are manifold and they can also cause damage of nerves, oil embolic of the pulmonary, occlusion of the pulmonary artery, myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke, and infectious complications,” according to the review.

Melnikov said his patient was “lucky” that the injections did not affect any other parts of his body.

---