A BRITISH man who lost lips and all four of his limbs when a common cold turned into a flesh-eating bug has endured a 20-hour operation to rebuild his lips.

    Alex Lewis, 34, lost his arms, legs and parts of his face to a deadly virus but has now had his face transformed using flesh from his shoulder.

    The quadruple amputee underwent two days of gruelling surgery to open his mouth back up and give him back his lips.

    Lewis spent six hours in the operating room at Salisbury District Hospital while surgeon Dr. Alexandra Crick opened up his mouth and stitched in a temporary sponge foam.

    His lips were then built up using flesh from his shoulder and two veins were fused into his artery so his new flesh has its own blood supply.

    Extra skin was finally stitched onto the left side of his mouth, which will be removed in two weeks if there are no problems with the healing process.

    The new skin around Lewis’ lips will eventually turn the same color as his face, the skin will shrink and there will be no scarring.

    The operation left Lewis “petrified” but he said he is now confident that one day he will smile again.

    Lewis, who lives in Stockbridge, Hampshire, with wife Lucy and their 3-year-old son Sam, said: “This feels like an incredible step forward to the end result.

    “I feel now the worst is over and I can now look forward to the healing process of my face changing.”

    In November, Lewis battled against the odds to make a remarkable recovery after doctors gave him a 3-percent chance of survival.

    Doctors were forced to amputate both legs above the knee as well as his left arm, when a Strep A infection developed into septicaemia and toxic shock syndrome.

    He lost his lips to the deadly bug and spent a week in a coma as the deadly bacteria wreaked havoc through his body.

    But he said this latest operation has been one of the toughest for him to come to terms with.

    He said: “It is something you can adapt to because you know long-term you will walk again and you will use your arms again in some form. When it comes to facial reconstruction or facial disfigurement, I think vanity gets the better of you.”

    In six months he will undergo more surgery to chisel in the shape of his lips and shadow lines before having the texture tattooed on. (SD-Agencies)