When 22-year-old crane driver Tang Xiaolong recently came to the hospital on Yongshu Reef to change medications, his two fingers looked entirely normal, though they had been almost cut off in an accident about 50 days prior.

His colleagues remarked to the medical staff that Tang's recovery seemed almost like a miracle.

On the morning of Oct. 14, Tang’s middle and index fingers were caught in a rotating machine. The middle finger was almost severed, and its bones were crushed. An initial examination revealed that the finger's nerves and arteries were severely damaged.

After several discussions, doctors decided to try their best to save the young man's fingers. Dr. Li Yong performed Tang's surgery, which lasted four hours. After the surgery, Tang’s pale fingertips became red again, indicating that the operation was successful.

“After the operation, my fingers were fragile, like newly planted trees. The hospital offered me the best and most modern care. They even opened a high-press oxygen cabin for me, which is usually only opened for 16 patients," Tang described in a thank-you letter to the hospital's staff.

Tang was discharged from the hospital on Oct. 31. After more than one month of treatment, his fingers have resumed normal function.

As the Chinese hospital farthest away from the Chinese mainland, the hospital on Yongshu Reef in the South China Sea opened in July 2016. The Yongshu Reef Hospital has more than 10 departments, and is staffed by experts and specialists from the Navy General Hospital.