Dr. Kaldarbek Abdramanov, a cardiac surgeon in Kyrgyzstan, was performing open-heart surgery on patient Tagir Karabayev in a state-run clinic when the hospital lights went out. Not wanting to risk the surgery, Dr. Abdramanov’s team of surgeons took their phones out and focused the mobile light on the patient’s open chest.

Remarkably, the patient survived. “But these are the kind of extreme circumstances under which we perform operations on hearts that have stopped beating,” Abdramanov said. “I am not sure if it is a crime or an act of heroism.”

These extreme circumstances are due in large part to Kyrgyzstan’s government's extreme effort to conserve electricity. So, this means Dr. Abdramanov has performed surgery amid a blackout before, and he’ll most likely do it again. Normally, he said, he’ll rely on hydropower, which is electricity generated from moving water, but the water levels are so low in local rivers that it doesn’t make much of a difference.

The Daily Mail reported that locals are now on a mission to raise money to buy a generator for the clinic. Even with proper lighting, the risks of open-heart surgery include heart attack or stroke, lung or kidney failure, blood clot and loss, as well as brain damage. It’s insane to think how today’s mobile technology may not only ensure patient survival, but it doesn’t seem it exacerbated any of these risks.

After you tip a hat to Abdramanov’s skill and innovative team, watch the whole thing unfold in the video below.