'Tree man' condition had worsened again

An Indonesian man dubbed the "tree man" because of the gnarled warts all over his body said on Friday his condition had worsened again although he still hoped to recover and find a job.
Dede, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, returned home from hospital in August after six kilograms (13 pounds) of warts were surgically removed from his body and has been treated as an out-patient since.


The growths make it difficult for Dede to smoke a cigarette

"Those (warts) that were removed are growing again and started to reappear after I returned home," Dede told Reuters, adding that for a time he could go fishing and use a cell phone but now needed assistance again for such activity.
An American doctor has previously said the warts were the result of severe human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, but the disease is not life-threatening. Doctors say his case is thought to be the worst of its type in the world.

Discovery Channel recently made a documentary about Dede's affliction and his life.
Dede, 37, first noticed the warts on his body after cutting his knee as a teenager.
Over time, Dede was sacked from his job, deserted by his wife and shunned by neighbors as the horn-like extensions covered much of his body and stopped him working. He has two children.


X-Ray photo


"I'm not desperate but I want to recover," he added, speaking from his home in the remote West Java village of Tanjung Jaya.
An Indonesian doctor said he would have further operations at the end of December or early next year to remove and reduce warts.

"We have told him that his disease could not be 100 percent cured. In the previous operation, we only tried to increase his quality of life," said Rachmat Dinata, one of a team of doctors treating him at the Hasan Sadikin hospital in Bandung, a city near his village.

Dinata said he would need at least two operations every year.

For a while, Dede was forced to take part in a circus act in Bandung in order to make ends meet.But after his case received widespread publicity, donations from the public and government help allowed him to get treatment.
He has also been able to buy some land to grow rice and a second-hand car so his relatives can bring him to hospital.


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UPDATE:21 Dec 2009

'Tree Man' Dede Koswara once again battling branches







DEDE Koswara, known more famously to the world as 'Tree Man', is once again battling woody growths that are threatening to cover his body.


Having been largely freed from what doctors say are an extreme case of Human Pappiloma Virus (HPV) warts, Dede's life began returning to normal after surgery in August.

He first made headlines around the world in 2007, when shocking pictures emerged of the mysterious Indonesion man who appeared to be covered in bark.

It took almost two years for doctors to diagnose "Tree Man" with a rare genetic problem that robbed him of the ability to fight HPV, which meant the warts caused by the virus were raging out of control over his body.

In August, Dede returned home and began rebuilding his life after doctors removed some six kilograms of warts.

His hands - once an indistinguishable mass of scales - could hold a mobile phone or cigarette, even enable him to enjoy a spot of fishing.

With the help of his mother, he was able to properly bathe and eat noodles.

But now, just four months after leaving hospital, Dede spoke to Metro.co.uk of his dismay to find the warts were fighting back. Read the story here - warning - story contains graphic images.

"Those (warts) that were removed are growing again and started to reappear after I returned home," he said from his home in the West Java village of Tanjung Jaya.

"I'm not desperate but I want to recover."

Before his treatment, Dede was shunned by his fellow villagers and forced to take work in a circus to feed himself.

He has two children but his wife has left him.

However, since publicity grew about Indonesia's famous Tree Man, boosted by a moving Discovery Channel documentary that highlighted Dede's grace and humility in the face of such distress, donations have helped him buy a car and some land to grow rice.

Doctors admit they'll never be able to stop the warts from returning, but said that with two operations a year, Dede would at least enjoy a better quality of life.