After a Decade and 16 Surgeries, Bangladesh’s ‘Tree Man’ Has Hope

He had a rare disease that caused wart-like lesions that resembled tree branches growing from his hands and feet

Abul Bajandar, Bangladesh’s ‘Tree Man’. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Khaleej Times) 

Abul Bajandar, the 27-year-old Bangladeshi who came to be known as the "tree-man" now has the use of his hands after a decade.

Bajandar came to the media's attention in early 2016 because of a rare and unusual medical condition called 'Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis'. In other words he had wart-like lesions that resembled tree branches growing from his hands and feet.

The Bangladesh government had announced that it would pay for his treatment. And after 16 operations over the past year, Bajandar can finally leave the label "tree-man" behind.

His hands and feet are almost healed now and he will be discharged within the month, after a couple of minor surgeries, said Samanta Lal Sen, plastic surgery coordinator at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

I never thought I would ever be able to hold my kid with my hands. 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.

Bajandar after the surgery

Bajandar after the surgery. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/DC_Lifestyle)

The first symptoms of the disease came to light in his teenage years when he cut his knee, but he ignored them, thinking it to be harmless.

He used to be a rickshaw-puller before his medical condition made it impossible for him to not only continue his livelihood, but to even live peacefully in his native village.

On 19 February 2015, Bajandar underwent an operation of three and a half hours at the Dhaka Medical College. That was his first ray of hope.

His doctors think he might be the first person in the world to be cured of the disease, provided the warts don't grow back. Last year, Dede Koswara from Indonesia died of the disease.

Bajandar now plans to set up a small business of his own with the donations he received from well-wishers across the world.

(With inputs from The News Minute and NDTV)