Bangladesh’s ‘Tree Man’ prepares for surgery to have his enormous ‘bark-like’ warts removed
Abul Bajandar, a father of one, said he tried cutting the warts when they first appeared, but it was extremely painful.
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 31 January, 2016, 10:43pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 31 January, 2016, 11:01pm
Agence France-Presse in Dhaka
Abul Bajandar’s warts began to grow rapidly four years ago. Photo: AFP
A Bangladeshi father dubbed “Tree Man” for having massive bark-like warts on his hands and feet will finally have surgery to remove the growths that first appeared 10 years ago, a hospital said on yesterday.
Abul Bajandar, from the southern district of Khulna, has been preparing for surgery to cut out the growths weighing at least 5kg that have smothered his hands and feet.
“Initially, I thought that they’re harmless,” the 26-year-old said. “But slowly I lost all my ability to work. There are now dozens of two to three inch roots in both my hands. And there are some small ones in my legs,” said Bajandar who was forced to stop working as a bicycle puller.
A team of doctors has been formed to perform the operation at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Bangladesh’s largest state-run hospital, which has decided to waive all fees.
Tests are underway to ensure Bajandar’s root-like warts can be removed surgically without causing any other health problems.
The massive warts have been diagnosed as epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic skin disease.
“Popularly it is known as tree-man disease,” DMCH director Samanta Lal Sen said. “As far as we know there are three such cases in the world.”
Bajandar’s elder sister, Adhuri Bibi, said hundreds of people have visited their home over the years to see the “Tree Man”.
“Even here at the hospital, hundreds have already gathered,” she said.
Bajandar, a father of one, said he tried cutting the warts when they first appeared, but it was extremely painful.
“I went to a village homoeopath and herbal specialist. But those medicines only worsened my condition.”
He also consulted doctors in India, but could not afford the cost of the operation there.
