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Bangladeshi tree man still struggling: incurable disease now an ordeal
photo Ansa
We are in Bangladesh
Abul Bajandar, is a 32-year-old Bangladeshi man nicknamed 'the tree man' because of warts on his hands caused by a rare genetic disease. While he spent a very normal childhood in his hometown, he certainly had no idea that, within a few years, his story would be known all over the world. Or that he would become known as 'tree man'. This unusual nickname was given to him precisely because of an ultra-rare disease that covered his hands with massive growths, similar, in fact, to the bark of a tree.
photo Ansa
An endless ordeal
Abul has had more than 20 surgeries over the past seven years to remove these unusual warts. And now he is back in hospital again to undergo new surgeries. He was hospitalized last 13 May.
Photo Getty
A problem that started as early as adolescence
During his teenage years, Bajandar began to notice, without paying too much attention, the presence of some small warts on the skin of his hands and feet. Over time, these strange formations continued to grow and increase in number. Since the solution of removing them with a knife had proved useless and painful, the young man finally decided to consult his village doctor, a homeopath and herbal expert who, unfortunately, only made things worse.
Photo Getty
The situation has thus worsened
Around the age of 20, the warts began to take on an appearance similar to plant bark, multiplying ever more rapidly. Within five years, the growths continued to grow unchecked and ended up completely covering the young man's hands.
photo Ansa
The diagnosis and its hopes
Abul Bajandar was diagnosed with epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV), also known as Lewandowsky-Lutz syndrome, a hereditary genodermatosis due to genetic mutations that make patients susceptible to human papillomavirus infections. "I want to live like a normal person, I just want to be able to hold my daughter in my arms and hold her close to me," Bajandar had said. This had happened after several operations he had undergone that had finally allowed him to eat and write using his own hands. But now another operation is needed.
