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

More than two years after doctors in Jerusalem removed thousands of bark-like 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 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 an extremely rare condition caused by his immune system's inability to fight off the ubiquitous human papillomavirus, resulting in painful grey and white growths on his hands and other parts of his body. His severe form of this condition has only been documented a handful of times around the world and has been nicknamed "tree man" syndrome because the large growths can resemble tree bark.