Despite the fact we're all taught from a young age to celebrate the unique qualities that help us to stand out from everyone else, sometimes our differences can leave us at a clear disadvantage in life.
One Bangladeshi man who knows this all too well is Abul Bajandar, 28, who suffers from an incredibly rare genetic condition that has left him looking like a human tree. And despite undergoing 24 surgeries and being declared "cured" by doctors back in 2016, Bajandar has once again found himself covered in the bark-like growths, CNN has reported.
Bajandar's condition is called epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV), and the bark-like growths are actually large warts that cover his hands, legs, and body. The disease is so rare that only 12 people in the world suffer from the condition.
This footage from Bajandar's surgery in 2016 shows just how much was removed from his flesh:Back in 2016 and after two decades of suffering with the bark-like warts, Bajandar was treated by doctors for free by doctors at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Surgeons were able to remove over five kilograms of the growths, prompting doctors to declare Bajandar "cured", the Independent reported.
However, two years since Bajandar spoke out about his joy of finally being able to hold his young daughter, his hands and feet are once again covered in the growths - some of them reaching over an inch in length.
Speaking to CNN, Dr. Samanta Lal Sen, co-ordinator at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital said:
"It's a complicated case and we were making progress but he left to go home. I requested him many times to come back but he didn't.
"He came back to the hospital on Sunday with his mother. He should have come here six months back. He came too late."
Sen's team are now devising a plan for Bajandar's future treatments, and have stated that he will likely need five to six more operations in order to once again free him of the warts.
Back in 2016, it was the government who covered the cost of Bajandar's treatment, and Sen has said this will extend to any new surgeries the father now needs.
