The man with a disease so rare only five people in the world have it

A Bangladeshi father dubbed the 'tree man' due to large bark-like warts growing on his hands and feet has been able to feed himself for the first time in years after undergoing successful surgery in order to remove the growths.

Abdul Bajander, 25, has epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic condition which causes the growths on his skin.

He was forced to quit his job as a rickshaw driver because of the disease. "Sometimes I wonder why god has given me such a dreadful condition. I feel awful about my fate. People suffer from different illnesses. They get well or they die. That's the end of their suffering . My own hands and legs are a burden," he said.

Picture: Suvra Kanti Das/ZUMA Wire/REX Shutterstock

Mr Bajander's story - including the three-and-a-half hour surgery by nine doctors to help him remove the growths - is told in a new documentary airing on Barcroft TV.

The condition had never been seen before in Bangladesh and reportedly only five people suffer from it worldwide. His surgeon Dr Samanta Lal Sen said:

I have not seen any patient like this in my entire life.

Picture: Suvra Kanti Das/ZUMA Wire/REX Shutterstock

Reports say that his condition has given celebrity status in his hometown of Khulna, and hundreds of people came to visit him in hospital.