THE surgeon credited with saving accident victim Renato Domingos' foot nearly a fortnight ago yesterday heralded the operation as a collaboration of medical skills. And Dr. Christopher Johnson stressed that contrary to public reports hailing the procedure a complete success, his client has received no such assurance.

"Whatever you write, please make sure that you mention all the other people," he implored. "And (he's) not out of the woods yet. That needs to be made clear too."

Much mention has been made of Dr. Johnson's efforts since an interview with Mr. Domingos' girlfriend, Laura Souza, appeared in . On the heels of her lavish praise came an editorial in the daily highlighting the doctor's medical savvy.

"It wasn't just me," Dr. Johnson insisted yesterday. Detailing the roles played by Dr. Milan Oleksak, Dr. Will Peckett and nurse Sarah Miller, he added: "I think there's been a misconception that it was all me. His family have been very kind to me as they were to all the doctors and the nurses who helped."

According to , Mr. Domingos was riding his cycle on the morning of July 27 when a woman driving a car pulled out of a gate and stopped in the middle of his lane.

As Mr. Domingos hit the front of the car his foot was sliced, the top half left hanging by a strip of skin.

The collision, which took place at Barnes Corner in Southampton, caused his bike to continue travelling down the road, completely totalled as a result.

"Basically, it was a near amputation of the foot," Dr. Johnson explained. "It was pulse-less and essentially very cyanotic. He was quickly picked up by the ambulance workers and brought to the Emergency Room and Dr. Oleksak, a really incredible orthopaedic surgeon, actually (resuscitated) the foot at that point and the pulses came back.

"The foot was essentially just a small island of arteries and veins and tissue on the back sides. Three-quarters of the front part of the ankle was gone. They called me in. We stabilised the bone and, in order to get coverage to save the foot, we took muscle from the abdomen and plugged the artery and vein from the muscle into an artery and vein in the leg.

"I think the entire procedure lasted ten to 12 hours, my portion took six hours.

"It just so happened that nurse (Miller) had been trained in London to assist in microsurgery. She just happened to be on duty that day and was assigned to that case. It just happened that I was able to clear my schedule. Everything fell into place."

An American, Dr. Johnson arrived on the island in June to work with the ?lan Clinic, which offers plastic surgery and related techniques to clients. His credentials include two bachelor's degrees (hons), from Iowa's Grinnell College ? one in Russian, the other in Chemistry ? and a master's in Science from Oxford University. He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1989.

At 43, he is fluent in French, Russian, Spanish, Swahili and, of course, English.

A member of the American Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons, the Wound Healing Society, the Society of Black Academics Surgeons, the American Medical Association and other prestigious bodies, Dr. Johnson yesterday described the recent surgery as his greatest challenge in Bermuda since his arrival.

The technique used, he explained, was "microsurgery", a specialisation within the field of plastic surgery.

"It's not that common," he explained, "not all plastic surgeons are able to do it. It involves suturing tiny, tiny vessels using specialised instruments. It's very difficult."

The reconstructive and cosmetic surgeon yesterday gave the operation an 80 to 90 per cent chance of success.

"It's difficult and if need be, we'll repeat it if we don't get all of the bone covered," he said. "It's been a real challenge."