Bangladeshi man suffering from ‘treeman syndrome’ wants amputation

A Bangladeshi man in his 20s, who has been suffering from a rare genetic disease known as ‘tree man’ syndrome, said on Friday that he wants his hands to be amputated as over two years of treatments has brought little relief.

“I cannot tolerate the pain anymore,” said Abul Bajandar, who has been living with the condition, which leads to continually growing gnarled warts, for over 20 years.

“But doctors do not agree with my proposal. They say ‘if you go for operations, then we can treat you. But if we cut off your hands, we cannot treat you,” he added.

The disease, caused by increased vulnerability to the human papillomavirus (HPV) due to an immune system defect, only affects a handful of people around the world.

Bajandar has reportedly requested the assistance of the Bangladesh government to seek treatment abroad.