Abul Bajandar, nicknamed ‘Tree Man’ for the rare bark-like warts on his hands and legs, has claimed he left the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) without informing the authorities due to negligence by the medical staff.
He made the allegation to Bangla Tribune while speaking at his home in Sorol village at Khulna’s Paikgacha Upazila.
Sitting next to his Halima Begum, Bajandar said, “My treatment was going well. Then the doctors started neglecting.
“I tolerated everything, but I couldn’t bear it anymore. Finally, I left the hospital,” he said.
“I wanted a month-leave on May 26 for Eid. But, doctors wanted me to sign a document that read ‘I, Abul Bajandar, am not willing to take treatment and go under surgery. The government or the hospital authorities will not hold responsibly if my condition deteriorates.’ I did not sign it and left the DMCH without informing anyone,” he said.
Bajandar said, “Doctors said it will not fully recover. The wart will continue to grow forever, requires going under surgeries as well and that it’s a genetic problem”.
He claimed that the wart has not grown at the part where main root has been removed through surgery.
Bajandar said, “I am not aware of any one in family having this. But, I don’t understand why doctors say it’s a genetic issue.”
Seeking the prime minister’s intervention, Bajandar said he hoped better treatment can cure the disease.
“I have somewhat recovered. But, the wart starts growing as the doctors started neglecting. It wouldn’t happen if they gave proper treatment and performed timely surgeries.”
According to Bajandar, Professor Kabir Chowdhury led the first 5 to 6 surgeries, but the DMCH authorities have not called him in for the rest of the surgeries.
“In February, one Dr Hydayet asked us to leave Cabin 515. The next day, he forced us to leave the cabin as we informed Dr Shamanta Lal Sen of the matter. Then we came back and stayed home for two months.
“In April, we went to DMCH and were allotted Cabin 611. But, matters like food and medicine supplies were seriously neglected. Dr Sen came to us with the documents on May 26 and asked me to sign it. Halima (wife) read it to me and I decided not to sign it.”

Bajandar said he had undergone 25 surgeries since Jan 31 2016.
“Every time, we had to buy medicines. But, the hospital authorities were supposed to provide that in line with the prime minister’s instruction.” Bajandar said.
In 2008, a man with similar conditions was found in Indonesia after the CNN reported it.
The report said doctors believed the case was created by a genetically inherited immune defect and a type of human papillomavirus, or HPV.
There are hundreds of types of HPV, some of which are linked to cervical cancer and others that cause common warts that can be acquired through cuts, CNN said.
DMCH Burn and Plastic Surgery unit chief Sen told the media in 2016, when Bajandar was brought to them, that only two cases had been found so far – one in Romania and the other in Indonesia.
He said he came to know that the Indonesian patient recovered from surgery in 2009.