The 32-year-old Indonesian Dede's hands and feet are completely covered with woody outgrowths. At the age of 15, the disease began to disfigure him. Thick growths grew on his body. Roots seemed to grow from his hands and feet. He had to give up his job as a fisherman and earned his living as an attraction for the onlookers at fairs.
In a documentary on the Discovery Channel, Dede was examined by a US dermatologist who suspected a combination of papilloma viruses and a genetic immune deficiency behind the bark-like skin. According to a newspaper report, the treatment has now been started and the doctors surgically peeled two kilograms of bark from his skin. Dede can finally use his hands again and walk without pain.
But the doctors are still not giving the all-clear. The head of the Indonesian medical team is planning two more surgeries. The treatment should be completed within the next three months. But he also says: “There is still a high risk that the warts will come back. But so far there have been no signs of that..."