'Tree Man' returns to hospital as 'roots' grow in new parts of his hands, feet
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Dhaka, Jan 23: Abul Bajandar, widely known as the 'Tree Man' of Bangladesh for the bark-like growths on his body returned to hospital on Sunday after his condition worsened.
Abul had been suffering from Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV), a genetic condition that made his skin susceptible to the human papillomavirus (HPV), resulting in raised bark-like warts on the body.
Abul Bajandar has had 25 surgeries since 2016 to remove the growths from his hands and feet at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Doctors were on the verge of declaring their treatment a success before a sudden relapse prompted Bajandar to flee the clinic in May without notifying staff.
But on Sunday he was readmitted to the hospital after his condition deteriorated, with the growths now covering almost the entirety of his hands and feet, the 28-year-old said.
The father of one suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic condition also known as "tree-man syndrome."
What
is
EV
or
Epidermodysplasia
Verruciformis?
EV
is
a
rare
genetic
condition,
which
leaves
the
skin
more
vulnerable
to
the
HPV
subtypes
5
and
8.
It
causes
the
skin
to
develop
thick
bark-like
warts,
which
can
spread
from
one
site
to
another.
The disease usually manifests in the youth, where hyperpigmented or hypopigmented warts develop progressively over the years. But apart from causing disability in patients, the disease can also increase the chances of skin cancer - non-melanoma skin cancers in 30-60 percent of the patients in the sun-exposed areas of their body.
What
are
the
causes
of
EV?
EV
is
a
genetic
disease,
which
is
passed
on
from
blood
relatives.
Around
10
percent
of
patients
have
the
disease
may
have
inherited
from
a
shared,
common
ancestor.
People
with
EV
generally
have
an
impaired
immune
response
to
the
HPV
that
causes
the
disease.
How
is
EV
treated?
There's
no
cure
for
the
disease.
Treatment
includes
surgically
removing
plaques
and
lesions,
but
there's
no
guarantee
that
they
won't
return.
Surgeons
typically
scoop
out
the
warts
with
a
curette,
keeping
the
skin
under
the
lesions
intact.
Other methods such as cryotherapy, where the warts are frozen off to remove them, and liquid nitrogen are also used in treating EV.