'Tree-man' Bajandar resumes treatment at DMCH

Abul Bajandar, also known as “tree-man” for his extremely rare skin disorder on hands and feet, has resumed his treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) after he “voluntarily” left treatment last year.

Bajandar got admitted to the hospital on Sunday and got a cabin at the burn unit, he told The Daily Star today.

Earlier in January, he got admitted to the hospital, but went back to his village home again as he did not get any bed at the hospital.

Talking to The Daily Star, he said some tests are being done. He hoped that he will get well and be free from the severe pain that he feels at the affected areas.

"We will form a medical board of six members next week after we get the test results and start his treatment,” said Dr Samanta Lal Sen, co-ordinator of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery at DMCH, who was supervising the treatment of Bajander when he was at the hospital earlier.

Bajandar, 28, left the burn unit of the DMCH on May 26 last year after 26 surgeries and returned to his village home in Paikgachha of Khulna as he gave up hope of a full recovery.

He became frustrated as most of the warts used to come back after surgeries. But this time he is hopeful of full recovery.

Dr Samanta Lal Sen said that the treatment for this is continuous surgeries. Gradually, the warts will stop coming back, he said.

Many of the portions of the affected areas have already normalised after previous surgeries, he added.

Bajandar got the nickname for massive bark-like warts on his hands and feet as a result of an extremely rare skin disorder. He came under national spotlight when media reports were published following his admission to DMCH on January 30, 2016. At the time, he was the fourth person recorded in the world to have the disease.