More than two years after doctors in Jerusalem removed thousands of barklike lesions that had prevented Mahmoud Taluli from using his hands for more than a decade, he continues his battle with a rare, incurable skin condition. But even with another surgery planned for later this summer — his fifth in the pioneering treatment at Hadassah Medical Center — Taluli considers himself a winner.

“After years of suffering and solitude, I can finally live a normal life,” said Taluli, 44, who lives in Gaza and suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare condition caused by his immune system’s inability to fight off the ubiquitous human papillomavirus, resulting in painful gray and white growths on his hands and other parts of his body. His severe form of this condition has been documented only a handful of times around the world and has been nicknamed “tree man” syndrome because the large growths can resemble tree bark.

Patient With ‘Tree Man’ Syndrome Says He 'Can Finally Live A Normal Life’

Photo: Hadassah Medical Center
Caption: The growths on Mahmoud Taluli’s hands were the result of a severe case of a rare condition called epidermodysplasia verruciformis — sometimes referred to as “tree man” syndrome because the tumors can resemble wood or bark. At right: Taluli after his operation.