--- ---  # Bangladesh Will Pay for 'Tree Man' Surgery  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Feb 4, 2016 8:03 PM UTC  Abul Bajandar in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Bangladesh on Jan. 30, 2016. Abul Bajandar in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Bangladesh on Jan. 30, 2016.Anadolu Agency—;Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Feb 4, 2016 8:03 PM UTC The government of Bangladesh [will pay ](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35493921)the surgery costs for a man with a rare disease that caused bark-like warts to sprout on his hands and legs. Abul Bajandar, who suffers from a rare disease called epidermodysplasia verruciformi, will undergo surgery paid for by the state, Bangladesh’s minister of health Mohammad Nasim said after visiting him in hospital Thursday. The growths started appearing on his hands and legs 10 years ago, the BBC reports. “Initially, I thought that they’re harmless,” Bajandar [told AFP](http://www.afp.com/en/news/surgery-bangladeshs-tree-man-remove-warts). Doctors will remove [11 pounds](http://news.discovery.com/human/health/tree-man-to-have-surgery-on-11-pounds-of-growths-160202.htm) of warts during the impending surgery at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where a team of doctors has been assembled. The hospital’s director [said only three people](http://www.afp.com/en/news/surgery-bangladeshs-tree-man-remove-warts) in the world have the condition, which is also known as the “tree man disease.” \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35493921)\] Bangladesh Pay for Tree Man Disease Removal Surgery ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4208397/bangladesh-surgery-tree-man-disease/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4208397/bangladesh-surgery-tree-man-disease/"},"headline":"Bangladesh Will Pay for 'Tree Man' Surgery","datePublished":"2016-02-04T20:03:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:29:43.530Z","description":"Abul Bajandar suffers from a rare disease called epidermodysplasia verruciformi","url":"https://time.com/4208397/bangladesh-surgery-tree-man-disease/","keywords":["Newsfeed","World"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7d017cbaafaa0a8/69887c308e06016d6946474a/bangladesh-pay-tree-man-surgery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7d017cbaafaa0a8/69887c308e06016d6946474a/bangladesh-pay-tree-man-surgery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"bangladesh pay tree man surgery","caption":"bangladesh pay tree man surgery","creditText":"Anadolu Agency—;Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4208397/bangladesh-surgery-tree-man-disease/","name":"Bangladesh Will Pay for 'Tree Man' Surgery"}}]}] ```