Catching up with Tree Man of Indonesia



Tree Man with his child

 Back in 2007, Dede Koswara became a kind of celebrity when his undiagnosed skin condition gone out of control made headlines.
Koswara first discovered the growths when he was fifteen following a cut to his  knee. The warts began to spread to the rest of his body, eventually reaching his face. For a time, he worked for a circus act just to make money. At one time, bugs were living in the growths.

For the past two years, doctors continually remove the growths, but there's not yet a cure to provide sustained relief. The condition, known as Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia, which is apparently the cause of wart and horn growths, has never been linked to such an excessive case before. Doctors still cannot say why the growths that resemble tree roots on his upper body and on his feet are so pronounced.

Treeman's Condition Worsens in 2008



 Back in 2007, Dede's life seemed entirely consumed by his disease and he feared an entire take-over of his body. Living in poverty and constant pain, his story brought him to the attention of a doctor in the United States. One of the treatments offered was daily doses of Vitamin A - seems simple enough, but to a poverty-stricken man living in Indonesia suffering in this way, it was more than a hopeful opportunity.

Four pounds of tree-like tissue was removed from his body. After his condition did seem to improve and he was able to use his hands again (becoming a Sudoku addict) without causing himself pain, things eventually went downhill again in 2008. Dede underwent two more skin graft surgeries that year and has had ten surgeries to date. The roots of the warts have reached his bones which is not making treatment easy.