Surgeon Dmitry Melnikov of Sechenov Moscow State Medical University, who performed Tereshin's first operation, said he still had about 75 per cent more of the vaseline-like implant to extract, which should take at least three more surgeries.
Petroleum jelly "saturates the muscles", said the surgeon, so the lump taken from Tereshin's arm was actually a mass of "scar tissue with fragments of muscles". Melnikov estimated that Tereshin had injected approximately three litres into each arm.
"It saturated the muscle tissues, blocked blood flow," said Melnikov. "As a result, the tissue dies and gets replaced with a scar which is as tough as a tree.
"But we are warning that it is extremely dangerous."
Tereshin said he had previously planned to use the substance in other areas of his body.
"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," said Tereshin.
