The medical team treating Dede, the man nicknamed "The Tree Man", on Monday received the results of tests conducted on tissue samples by Anthony Gaspari, a dermatologist from the University of Maryland in the United States.
Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supar wasn't very happy with the tests done by foreign doctors without authorization, however. When she visited Dede on Sunday, Siti openly expressed irritation about Gaspari's actions.
Hasan Sadikin hospital director, Cissy Rachiana Prawira, said the results of the tests were sent by facsimile to the hospital from the Ministry of Health in Jakarta.
The Minister of Health got the medical data from Kresna Astraatmadja, an Indonesian filmmaker involved in the production of the Discovery Channel documentary.
"We will cooperate with Dr. Gaspari in establishing the best medical treatment for Dede," Cissy said.
The head of the medical team, Rachmatdinata, said the results of the tests initiated by Gaspari showed Dede's condition was caused by Type 2 Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), or common warts. Unfortunately in Dede's case, a weak immune system had allowed the virus to grow uncontrolled. Eventually, Dede's skin and extremities looked like dried tree bark, which earned him the nickname "The Tree Man".
"The results include Dede's blood condition and CD4 count. We will use them as preliminary data in establishing the correct treatment," he said.
The team also planned to send samples to Jakarta's Dharmais hospital for DNA testing.
"We have contacted Dr. Gaspari by phone today and we intend to maintain regular contact with him, through phone or E-mail," he added.
0 comments:
Post a Comment