Bangladeshi ‘Tree Man’ Gets Hope After Multiple Operations

Abul Bajandar developed huge bark-like warts on his hands, arms and other parts of the body due to the extremely rare genetic condition called epidermodysplasia verruciformis, Daily Mail reported. He became a celebrity known as the “tree man” after his condition made international headlines.

Bajandar, a former rickshaw driver from a poor village in the district of Khulna, is just one of the four people in the world to have ever been diagnosed with the disease. When his warts began to cover his hands and feet, he was forced to stop working.

In the span of almost a year, the 27-year-old has undergone 16 operations wherein doctors were able to remove 11 lbs (5 kgs) of overdeveloped warts from his hands and feet.

Bajandar’s doctors at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, who have been giving the lengthy treatment for free, are confident that he is cured of the disease for good, as long as his warts stop growing back.

“Bajandar’s cure was a remarkable milestone in the history of medical science,” Dhaka Medical College Hospital plastic surgery coordinator Samanta Lal Sen was quoted as saying.

“We operated on him at least 16 times to remove his warts. The hands and feet are now almost fine. He will be discharged within next 30 days after a couple of minor surgeries to perfect the shape of his hands,” she added.

According to Bajandar, enduring the pain of his condition had been “unbearable”.

“I never thought I would ever be able to hold my kid with my hands,” Bajandar told Agence France-Presse. “Now I feel so much better, I can hold my daughter in my lap and play with her. I can’t wait to go back home.”

Halima Khatun, his wife who he met before he contracted the disease, and his daughter have both been living with him in the hospital.

Hoping that his warts don’t grow back again, he said he plans to set up a small business using the donations that poured in from all over the world upon his impending release.