‘Tree girl’ to undergo surgery today

Shahana Khatun, a 10-year-old girl who has got the extremely rare ‘tree man’ disease, will undergo surgery today at the burns unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Epidermodysplasia verruciformis, or ‘tree man’ disease, is a genetic skin disorder.
“She will undergo surgery around 12 noon tomorrow (Tuesday),” Samanta Lal Sen, the national coordinator of burns services in Bangladesh, said yesterday.
Sen told The Independent that Shahana has the same symptoms as the country’s first ‘tree man’ Abul Bajander. She developed those a year after her birth. “Shahana’s symptoms are not as severe as those of Bajander, who has recovered after undergoing
surgery and treatment for more than a year,” he added.
Replying to a question, Sen said that Shahana is likely to be the first girl or woman to have developed the rare skin disorder in Bangladesh. He expressed hope that her disease may be cured after a couple of surgeries. The burns unit would bear all costs of her treatment, he added.
Shahana, daughter of Shahjahan Mia of Baluchara village in Netrakona Sadar, was admitted to the burns unit of DMCH last week.
Bajandar, 26, underwent at least 18 surgeries at the burns unit of DMCH to remove the bark-like warts from his limbs that give the disease its colloquial name.
Experts said ‘tree man’ disease occurs due to genetic anomalies. No cure or preventive therapy has been found for it yet, though the branch-like warts can be removed.
A Romanian man was the first to be diagnosed with the ‘tree man’ disease in 2007, while another case was reported in Indonesia in November that year in a 35-year-old fisherman. The last reported case in 2009 was also in Indonesia. The Indonesian fisherman suffering from the disease died on January 30 last year from the complications related to his condition, as the warts began to reappear.

Tree girl to undergo surgery today

Shahana Khatun, a 10-year-old girl who has got the extremely rare tree man disease, will undergo surgery today at the burns unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Epidermodysplasia verruciformis, or tree man disease, is a genetic skin disorder. She will undergo surgery around 12 noon tomorrow (Tuesday), Samanta Lal Sen, the national coordinator of burns services in Bangladesh, said yesterday. Sen told The Independent that Shahana has the same symptoms as the countrys first tree man Abul Bajander. She developed those a year after her birth. Shahanas symptoms are not as severe as those of Bajander, who has recovered after undergoing surgery and treatment for more than a year, he added. Replying to a question, Sen said that Shahana is likely to be the first girl or woman to have developed the rare skin disorder in Bangladesh. He expressed hope that her disease may be cured after a couple of surgeries. The burns unit would bear all costs of her treatment, he added. Shahana, daughter of Shahjahan Mia of Baluchara village in Netrakona Sadar, was admitted to the burns unit of DMCH last week. Bajandar, 26, underwent at least 18 surgeries at the burns unit of DMCH to remove the bark-like warts from his limbs that give the disease its colloquial name. Experts said tree man disease occurs due to genetic anomalies. No cure or preventive therapy has been found for it yet, though the branch-like warts can be removed. A Romanian man was the first to be diagnosed with the tree man disease in 2007, while another case was reported in Indonesia in November that year in a 35-year-old fisherman. The last reported case in 2009 was also in Indonesia. The Indonesian fisherman suffering from the disease died on January 30 last year from the complications related to his condition, as the warts began to reappear.