Indonesia may stop `Tree Man` being treated in US: report

Woody growths entirely cover 32-year-old Dede's hands in long, root-like tendrils that leave him unable to work -- except as a member of a travelling "freak show". He was in a Discovery Channel documentary this month.

"We're clear about not giving them (US doctors) permission to bring Dede to the US," health ministry spokeswoman Lily Sriwahyuni Sulistiyowati was quoted as saying by Warta Kota daily.

"Moreover, people like Dede, who live in small villages, don't want to be taken away, especially to give blood samples. Normally village people don't easily give foreigners permission to test their blood," she said.