Dede Koswara (1971 – January 30, 2016), also known as the "Tree Man", was an Indonesian carpenter with

epidermodysplasia verruciformis Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV), also known as treeman syndrome, is an extremely rare autosomal recessive hereditary skin disorder associated with a high risk of skin cancer. It is characterized by abnormal susceptibility to human papillom ...

(EV), a rare disease that causes the

human papillomavirus Human papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is caused by a DNA virus from the ''Papillomaviridae'' family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and res ...

(HPV) to grow uncontrollably, leading to the development of warts resembling tree bark. He received criticism from the people around him for having an unknown disease for most of his life. It was not until his later years that he received notoriety and was given multiple treatments for his condition. __TOC__

Early years

Dede Koswara was healthy from birth up to his early childhood. At the age of ten, he started to develop warts around his injured knee, which then grew onto his limbs and face. He was unable to afford treatment for the disease and had initially tried to remove one of the larger warts, however the wart eventually regrew. He attempted to live a normal life, working as a craftsman. He married at the age of 18 and had two children. The warts continued to grow uncontrollably, which eventually limited his movements and became dependent on others for daily routines. Having become too dependent, he lost his job, was divorced by his wife, and was separated from his children. His parents offered him to live with them, so as to provide help. He was later hired by a carnival owner to be a part of a traveling freak show.

Later years

In November 2007, a video about Dede Koswara appeared on the Internet. His story was shared on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

and

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an As ...

series ''My Shocking Stories'' ('' Extraordinary People'') in the episode "Half Man Half Tree". In August 2008, an episode of ABC's Medical Mysteries, titled "Tree Man", was released, which was dedicated to Koswara's story. In August 2008, he underwent nine operations and had 95% of warts, about 6 kg (13 lb), surgically removed. During this time, his health had significantly improved so much that he regained the use of his hands and feet. However, the warts started to regrow and he was informed that two surgeries a year were necessary to keep the infections down. Dede Koswara died on 30 January 2016, aged 44, at the

Hasan Sadikin Hospital Dr. Hasan Sadikin Central General Hospital (''Rumah Sakit Umum Pusat Dr. Hasan Sadikin'', abbreviated as RSHS) is a public hospital in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia located in Jalan Pasteur 38, Sukajadi, Bandung. The hospital is organized as a "ge ...

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, from a series of health problems relating to his condition.

References

{{reflist Papillomavirus-associated diseases 1971 births 2016 deaths Indonesian people with disabilities