A Bangladeshi father dubbed "Tree Man" for massive bark-like warts on his hands and feet on Saturday underwent a successful operation to remove some of the growths, a hospital said.

A nine-doctor team took three and a half hours to remove the giant warts from Abul Bajandar's right hand at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, facility director Samanta Lal Sen told AFP.

The 26-year-old was admitted last month for an operation to remove the growths weighing at least five kilogrammes (11 pounds) that first began appearing 10 years ago.

"It was a successful operation. We removed warts from all five fingers of his right hand. He's now happy and was laughing," Sen said.

"We'll now review his condition for the next three weeks before deciding whether to conduct more operations. It's a big challenge."
Abul Bajandar (L) was diagnosed with epidermodysplasia …

Bajandar, from the southern district of Khulna, was diagnosed with epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic condition dubbed "tree-man disease" that causes the skin growths.

He became a celebrity with people travelling to Khulna over the years to see the "Tree Man" and hundreds visiting him in hospital.

He was given the all-clear for surgery after tests confirmed the warts were not cancerous.

The Bangladesh government agreed to bear the costs of his treatment and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was given an update on his condition, Sen said.

Bajandar's wife Halima Khatun saw her husband after the operation and said he looked "relaxed and happy".

Hospital director Sen said there were only three known cases of epidermodysplasia verruciformis in the world and Bajandar's was the only one in Bangladesh.

Bajandar told AFP last month that he initially thought that the warts were harmless but slowly as the growths covered his hands and feet, he was forced to quit working as a bicycle rickshaw puller.

An Indonesian villager with massive warts all over his body underwent a string of operations in 2008 to remove them.

http://news.yahoo.com/bangladeshs-tree-man-undergoes-successful-surgery-002519166.html/ " Pics on link *
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Epidermodysplasia verruciformis

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (also called Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia), colloquially known as tree man illness is an extremely rare autosomal recessive genetic[1] hereditary skin disorder associated with a high risk of carcinoma of the skin. It is characterized by abnormal susceptibility to human papillomaviruses (HPVs) of the skin.[2] The resulting uncontrolled HPV infections result in the growth of scaly macules and papules, particularly on the hands and feet. It is typically associated with HPV types 5 and 8,[3] which are found in about 80 percent of the normal population as asymptomatic infections,[4] although other types may also contribute.[3]

The condition usually has an onset of between the ages of 1–20,[5] but can occasionally present in middle-age.[5] It is named after the physicians who first documented it, Felix Lewandowsky and Wilhelm Lutz.[6]

No serious treatment against EV has been found yet. Several treatments have been suggested, and acitretin 0.5–1 mg/day for 6 months’ duration is the most effective treatment owing to antiproliferative and differentiation-inducing effects.

Interferons can also be used effectively together with retinoids.

Cimetidine was reported to be effective because of its depressing mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferation and regulatory T cell activity features. A report by Oliveira et al. showed that cimetidine was ineffective. Hayashi et al. applied topical calcipotriol to a patient with a successful result.

As mentioned, various treatment methods are offered against EV; however, most important, education of the patient, early diagnosis and excision of the tumoral lesions take preference to prevent the development of cutaneous tumors.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidermodysplasia_verruciformis/