‘Tree Man’ set to have a life changing surgery to remove warts

A Bangladeshi father nicknamed "Tree Man" for massive bark-like warts on his hands and feet will finally have surgery to remove the growths that first began appearing 10 years ago, a hospital said Sunday. Abul Bajandar, from the southern district of Khulna, is preparing for the surgery to cut out the growths weighing at least five kilogrammes (11 pounds) that have smothered his hands and feet.
"Initially, I thought that they're harmless," the 26-year-old told AFP at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
"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 quit working as a bicycle puller.

A team of doctors has been formed to perform the operation at DMCH, Bangladesh's largest state-run hospital, which has decided to waive costs of the treatment. Tests are under way to ensure Mr Bajandar's root-like warts can be removed surgically without damaging major nerves or causing any other health problems.
The massive warts, which first started appearing when he was a teenager but began spreading rapidly four years ago, have been diagnosed as epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic skin disease that makes the person susceptible to skin growths.
"Popularly it is known as tree-man disease," Samanta Lal Sen, DMCH director, told AFP.
"As far as we know there are three such cases in the world including Abul Bajandar. It is the first time we have found such a rare case in Bangladesh."
Mr Bajandar, a father of one, said he tried cutting the warts when they first appeared, but it was extremely painful.
"After that I went to a village homeopath and herbal specialist. But those medicines only worsened my condition."
He also consulted doctors in neighboring India, but he and his family could not afford the cost of the operation there, reports The Telegraph.