A
young Bangladeshi girl diagnosed with a rare condition known as “tree man
syndrome” has left hospital, her father told AFP Monday, saying he feared she
would never be cured.
Surgeons
operated on Sahana Khatun last month and removed some of the bark-like growths
she has developed from the extremely rare condition of epidermodysplasia
verruciformisa.
The 10-year-old
is believed to be the first female in the world to suffer from the condition,
also known as “tree man syndrome”, and was being treated for free by the Dhaka
Medical College Hospital.
Doctors hailed
the initial surgery as a success, but Sahana’s father Mohammad Shahjahan said
it had only aggravated her condition and he wanted to spare her from further
procedures.
“They removed
the bark-like growths and they grew again more thick and strong,” he told AFP.
“I am scared.
They said my daughter needed another 8-10 operations. But what’s the guarantee
that she will be cured after that.”
Samanta Lal Sen,
head of the hospital’s burns and plastic surgery unit, said he had wanted to
keep the girl in hospital for further surgery but her father, a poor labourer,
refused.
“He left with
his daughter, complaining there was no progress. We asked them to stay a few
more weeks for treatment,” Sen told AFP.
Sahana’s father,
a widower, said he had also struggled financially during her treatment.
“I had to remain
at her side without going to work. I didn’t have any money to feed her properly,”
he said.
“She’s the only
family I’ve got left and I don’t want to see her sadly sitting in a hospital
bed.”
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