Reagan’s Doctors Find New Growth : Three-Hour Surgery Planned Today; 7- to 10-Day Hospitalization Expected

A large, apparently precancerous polyp was found in President Reagan’s colon Friday, and abdominal surgery was scheduled for today to remove the growth.

Dr. Dale Oller, a Navy captain who will perform the surgery, was quoted by the White House as saying that the 74-year-old President “is in superior condition, and chances for a normal and full recovery are excellent.”

Reagan is expected to be hospitalized at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Maryland for seven to 10 days, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said.

Open abdominal surgery of this type normally takes three hours, Speakes said. But he added that there are no plans to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and temporarily transfer power to Vice President George Bush while Reagan is under general anesthesia.

Set for Any Contingency

Speakes emphasized several times, however, that “we are prepared for any contingency. . . . Whatever needs to be done, we can do.”

The growth was discovered by doctors at Bethesda during the previously scheduled removal, through the use of a flexible tube called an endoscope, of a smaller, benign polyp in Reagan’s colon. A biopsy was not conducted on this smaller polyp because it had shrunk since its initial discovery during a routine examination last March.

But during a simultaneous, one-hour, 18-minute examination with a colonoscope of the large intestine, Speakes said, doctors found “a larger, villus adenomatous-appearing polyp in the cecum.” Doctors were unable to remove it with an endoscope, the spokesman said, and surgery was scheduled.

A biopsy report on the larger polyp probably will be completed by the start of today’s midday surgery, Speakes said. He would not say how big the growth was, describing it only as “large.”

After conferring at length with doctors, Speakes said that “an adenomatous is a glandular polyp described as precancerous.”

A precancer condition basically means that cells are undergoing changes in structure and appearance that could lead to uncontrolled growth known as malignancy. Precancer essentially portends a potential progression to full-blown cancer.

The cecum, where Reagan’s growth was found, is at the upper end of the large intestine, where the appendix is located.

Speakes said it is not expected that a colostomy will be necessary. A colostomy is the fashioning of an opening from the large intestine to the surface of the skin for the elimination of waste.

Discovery of the larger growth apparently came as a surprise to the President and the White House. Reagan had planned merely to stay one night at the hospital and with his wife, Nancy, to fly this morning to the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., for the remainder of the weekend.

Given an Option

Reagan was given the option by doctors of delaying the surgery for two or three weeks--and going about his normal business in the meantime--or having the growth removed today. Speakes said: “The President made the decision, with Mrs. Reagan and the doctors present, to proceed immediately.”

“The President is in good spirits and, as usual, is equipped to handle whatever comes his way,” Speakes said. “I think he’s anxious to get into the saddle again.”

Mrs. Reagan spent part of Friday evening acknowledging “many, many” telephone calls from friends offering their support and prayers for the President’s recovery, said James S. Rosebush, Mrs. Reagan’s chief of staff.

Both Reagans accepted the news with characteristic optimism, he said, adding: “His spirits were very high. Coming out (after Friday’s procedure), he looked up at Mrs. Reagan and said: ‘Now, what was your name again?’ ”

Bullet Surgery

Reagan, the oldest President in U.S. history, underwent major surgery four years ago for removal of a bullet from his lung after an assassination attempt. The White House later acknowledged that Reagan then was in far graver danger than had been publicly disclosed. But, after several months, doctors said he had fully recovered.

Doctors generally have described Reagan as in excellent health. After heading a team that examined the President in May, 1984, Navy Capt. Walter Karney characterized him as “a mentally alert, robust man who appears younger than his stated age.” Karney essentially repeated this assessment after the examination last March during which the smaller polyp was discovered.

Laboratory tests, however, found evidence of blood in the President’s stool samples. The White House, quoting doctors, said this could have indicated the presence of another polyp or intestinal bleeding, or might have resulted merely from the eating of red meat and certain vegetables.

Special Diet

Reagan consequently was put on a special diet recommended by the American Cancer Society. And Speakes said on Wednesday, in announcing that the smaller polyp would be removed on Friday, that subsequent tests after Reagan had gone on the diet proved to be negative.

Speakes said the President apparently had not been suffering from any discomfort that would have led anyone to suspect the existence of the large growth.

Polyps are fairly common among persons over 50, and their numbers increase with age. The vast majority of such growths are benign. But doctors recommend that they be removed to prevent the potential development of colon cancer, the second most common form of cancer deaths among humans. Lung cancer is first.

The type of polyp that doctors believe they found Friday in Reagan is one that particularly raises their concerns about the potential of malignancy.

Special Suite

Reagan is staying in a Bethesda hospital suite reserved for presidents, admirals and members of Congress. Also occupying the suite is Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, 85, recovering from what was believed to have been a stroke.

Mrs. Reagan went back to the White House late Friday and was to return to the hospital today for the surgery.

Bush planned to spend the weekend at his summer home in Kennebunkport, Me., while remaining in close touch with the White House, Speakes said. The Cabinet and congressional leaders were immediately informed of the President’s condition after the afternoon examination.

Reagan’s other physical problems are relatively minor.

Hearing Problem

In September, 1983, the President began wearing a hearing aid in his right ear, 44 years after a revolver was fired near him on a Hollywood movie set, triggering a gradual hearing deterioration. Last year, he got a second hearing aid for his left ear to balance sound reception.

Reagan also has a rare hereditary malady known as DePuytrens Syndrome, which has resulted in the tightening of a tendon in his left hand and the gradual curling of a finger.

The President wears contact lenses to correct myopia. And he occasionally takes injections to relieve allergies.

Wearing a Western-style sport shirt and casual slacks, Reagan was flown by helicopter from the White House to Bethesda--a 15-minute trip--during the early afternoon Friday. When asked by shouting reporters how he felt, the President smiled broadly, waved and replied: “Fine.”