AFP / Munir Uz Zaman 
 
 Abul Bajandar, 26, dubbed "Tree Man" for massive bark-like warts on his hands and feet, sits at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Dhaka on January 31, 2016 
 
 A Bangladeshi father dubbed "Tree Man" for massive bark-like warts on his hands and feet will finally have surgery to remove the growths that first began appearing 10 years ago, a hospital said Sunday. 
 
 Abul Bajandar, from the southern district of Khulna, was undergoing preparations for the surgery to cut out the growths weighing at least five kilogrammes (11 pounds) that have smothered his hands and feet. 
 
 "Initially, I thought that they're harmless," the 26-year-old told AFP at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). 
 
 "But slowly I lost all my ability to work. There are now dozens of two to three inch roots in both my hands. And there are some small ones in my legs," said Bajandar who was forced to quit working as a bicycle puller. 
 
 A team of doctors has been formed to perform the operation at DMCH, Bangladesh's largest state-run hospital, which has decided to waive costs of the treatment. 
 
 Tests are underway to ensure Bajandar's root-like warts can be removed surgically without damaging major nerves or causing any other health problems. 
 
 AFP / Munir Uz Zaman 
 
 A team of doctors has been formed to perform the operation at DMCH, Bangladesh's largest state-run hospital, which has decided to waive costs of the treatment 
 
 The massive warts, which first started appearing when he was a teenager but began spreading rapidly four years ago, have been diagnosed as epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic skin disease that makes the person susceptible to skin growths. 
 
 "Popularly it is known as tree-man disease," DMCH director Samanta Lal Sen told AFP. 
 
 "As far as we know there are three such cases in the world including Abul Bajandar. It is the first time we have found such a rare case in Bangladesh," he said. 
 
 An Indonesian villager with massive warts all over his body underwent a string of operations in 2008 to remove them. 
 
 Bajandar's elder sister, Adhuri Bibi, said hundreds of people have visited their home in Khulna over the years to see the "Tree Man". 
 
 "Even here at the hospital, hundreds have already gathered," she told AFP. 
 
 Bajandar, a father of one, said he tried cutting the warts when they first appeared, but it was extremely painful. 
 
 "After that I went to a village homeopath and herbal specialist. But those medicines only worsened my condition." 
 
 He also consulted doctors in neighbouring India, but he and his family could not afford the cost of the operation there. ||||| "Tree Man" Abul Bajandar, who has been unable to work for years and whose young family lives in the hospital, says he fears he will never be cured A year ago Abul Bajandar, a Bangladeshi rickshaw-puller dubbed "tree-man" for the bark-like growths that once covered his body, appeared to have made a full recovery from the rare condition that has afflicted him for a decade. 
 
 But twelve months after doctors declared him all but cured following 24 surgeries, Bajandar's hands are once again covered in the growths that characterise his rare condition. 
 
 Surgeon Samanta Lal Sen, who last year hailed his cure as a milestone in medical history, now admits Bajandar's case may be more complicated than first thought. 
 
 His patient, who has been unable to work for years and whose young family lives in the hospital, says he fears he will never be cured. 
 
 "I am scared to have any more surgeries. I don't think my hands and feet will be okay again," the 27-year-old told AFP at the Dhaka hospital where he first came for treatment in January 2016. 
 
 Bajandar suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic condition known as "tree-man disease". 
 
 Intrigued by his condition, doctors at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital treated him for free, surgically removing more than five kilos (11 pounds) of growths from his hands and feet. 
 
 He has been there ever since with his wife and family, who live together in a small room in the hospital. 
 
 Abul Bajandar suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic condition known as "tree-man disease" 
 
 "We thought we had achieved (a cure). But now it seems to be a time-consuming case," surgeon Sen told AFP. 
 
 "We will keep on investigating to reach the ultimate success, though it's tough to say how long it will take." 
 
 This week Bajandar underwent his 25th surgery to remove some of the growths from his hands. 
 
 Fewer than half a dozen cases 
 
 For his wife Halima Khatun, life is on hold as she tends to her husband and looks after their four-year-old daughter. 
 
 "We're grateful for the free treatment, we couldn't have afforded to pay for it," said Khatun, who passes her time in the ward making jewellery for a little cash. 
 
 Abul Bajandar, with his family at a Dhaka hospital, worries about money and how he will pay for his daughter's education 
 
 Fewer than half a dozen people worldwide have epidermodysplasia verruciformis, according to Sen. 
 
 Last year the Dhaka Medical College Hospital treated a young Bangladeshi girl suffering from the condition. 
 
 Doctors declared surgery to remove the growths a success, but her father later said they had grown back in even greater numbers. 
 
 He withdrew her from treatment, saying he did not want to watch her grow up in a hospital ward. 
 
 "Nobody deserves to be in a hospital forever," said a nurse working in the plastic surgery unit. 
 
 "Unfortunately, he (Bajandar) may have to stay here for a while." 
 
 Dhaka doctors had surgically removed more than five kilos (11 pounds) of growths from Bajandar's hands and feet 
 
 Meanwhile Bajandar worries about money, and how he will pay for his daughter's education. 
 
 "She's growing up so fast," he said. 
 
 "I always wanted her to become a doctor. But if my condition worsens, how can I even send her to pre-school, let alone a medical college?" 
 
 Explore further: Bangladesh 'Tree Man' sees hope after 16 surgeries
– A father and former bicycle puller is gearing up for major surgery at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Bangladesh to remove more than 11 pounds of bark-like warts on his hands and feet that have earned him the nickname "tree man." The 26-year-old tells AFP he has suffered from what doctors call epidermodysplasia verruciformis for a decade, but that the growths dramatically increased in size and number four years ago. "Slowly I lost all my ability to work," says Abul Bajandar. "There are now dozens of two to three inch roots in both my hands. And there are some small ones in my legs." The genetic skin disease is so rare that one doctor says there are only three known cases in the world. At first Bajandar says he tried to cut the growths off himself but found it too painful, and when he went to a village homeopath his condition worsened. And while the six-person medical team is already starting to perform blood tests and biopsies, they describe Bajandar as too malnourished and weak for multi-stage plastic surgery, reports the Daily Star. "Doctors said I might need to stay here for six months," he said. His mother and sister are with him now, while his wife and 3-year-old daughter will join him soon. "Even here at the hospital, hundreds have already gathered" to try to get a look at Bajander, says his sister. Surgery is expected to start in three weeks, and the hospital is not charging Bajandar. (This baby's skin blisters when simply touched.)