Doctors in China saved a critically ill coronavirus patient by replacing both of his lungs after he spent more than two months on life support.
Cui An, 65, was fighting for his life in a Wuhan hospital from the middle of February until April 22.
Even after the disease had left his body he was at 'death's door' as he could breathe because of the damage to his lungs.
However, hero surgeons dressed in full protective clothing brought him back from the brink by carrying out a double lung transplant over the course of six hours.
The operation was performed in a negative-pressure room on April 20 after organs from a donor were flown in to Wuhan.
The negative pressure in the operating theatre helped prevent the disease from spreading, with medics wearing soundproof headgear to supply positive pressure.
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Dr Lin Huiqing, a leading medic at People's Hospital of Wuhan University, called the operation 'highly risky', Mail Online reports.
She said: "After putting on the positive-pressure head covers, the medical workers would not be able to use language to communicate during the surgery, and had to rely on their experience and mutual understanding to complete the operation."
The critically ill patient had developed a high temperature on January 23 and was diagnosed with the disease on February 7.
He was taken into Wuhan's Red Cross Hospital and put on life support on February 17.
After being transferred to intensive care he underwent several tests which showed coronavirus was no longer in his body.
However, the disease had caused such damage to his lungs that he required a ventilator and was 'at death's door'.
Doctors decided the only way to save his life was through a transplant - and on April 20 a donor passed away, providing him with the lungs he needed to survive.
They were flown from Yunnan to Wuhan on the same day, with the operation taking place that evening.
The patient was taken off life support two days after the surgery - and woke up on April 24.
He still requires a ventilator for much of the day as his muscles are not yet strong enough to support his lungs.
Despite this, he is now said to be recovering well.
The hospital's deputy professor Li Guang said the patient is slowly regaining his motor skills, although it will be a long time before he is completely back to normal.
