Palestinian cured from ‘tree man disease’ that gave him branch-like limbs

The illness isn’t even listed in medical textbooks

(Hadassah Ein Kareem Medical Centre)

Tree man disease - or Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis - is a rare condition that can be contracted by those infected by HPV.

It's physically painful and visually distressing, with sufferers exhibiting reddish-brown warts all over their bodies that resemble tree bark.

When untreated, the lesions can develop into malignant skin cancers.

Now a 42-year-old patient has been cured of the illness, after spending 10 years seeking medical treatment.

(Hadassah Ein Kareem Medical Centre)

Mohammed Taluli, from Gaza, became a social recluse after contracting a severe case of the condition which left him without any skin in his right hand.

The illness is typically treated with antibiotics, however, surgery can be required when a weak immune system can’t protect the body against the virus.

Doctors at Jerusalem’s Hadassah University Medical Centre carefully operated on Taluli to remove the lesions, grafting skin from other parts of his body to mask the wounds and restore the hand.

“Aside from the pain, the disease is very dangerous and could easily develop into cancer,” Taluli’s surgeon told the Jewish Press.

“(Taluli) eventually couldn’t move the hand. He had become withdrawn and fearful of any possible situation that could cause him to show the hand to other people. He kept the hand covered all the time and life was very hard for him,” the hand specialist explained.

The operation left Taluli with surgery wounds that currently resemble severe burns, however, these are expected to heal over the next few weeks.

He was thrilled with the results, telling the Jewish Press that he finally has hope of regaining a normal life, after spending a decade hiding away in his home, ashamed to go out.