Howser Has More Surgery, Listed in Good Condition

Dick Howser, who less than a month ago decided that he really wasn’t physically up to managing the Kansas City Royals, underwent another operation for his malignant brain tumor Friday morning at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.

According to Kay Murphy, director of public affairs at Huntington Memorial, Howser tolerated the three-hour surgery well and was “awake, alert and responsive Friday afternoon, talking with his wife, Nancy.” He was listed in good condition and was expected to remain in the hospital for about a week.

It was the third operation for Howser, whose tumor was diagnosed just days after he had managed the American League team to a 3-2 victory in the 1986 All-Star game.

The first operation, in Kansas City July 22, was to remove part of the malignant tumor. The second, at Huntington Memorial Dec. 5, involved an experimental cancer treatment called immunostimulation, in which cancer-killing cells were injected into the tumorous area.

Friday’s surgery repeated the immunostimulation process, a procedure currently being performed only at Huntington Memorial. Howser is not the first to undergo the procedure, although it is still considered experimental.

Neurosurgeons Skip Jacques and Donald Freshwater of the Huntington Medical Research Institutes performed the procedure.

According to Murphy: “Neurosurgeons noted some evidence of tumor growth and believe they were able to remove the tumor. The tumor had been evidenced since the second CAT scan in early March.

“(Jacques and Freshwater) also were able to successfully place the (cancer-killing cells) into the surgical cavity.”

Howser, 50, had tried to return this season as manager of the Royals, the team he led to the World Series title in 1985, but he found that he did not have the stamina. He was on the field, in uniform, for the team’s first workout in Fort Myers, Fla., Feb. 21. But he had to leave midway through the workout the next day and, finally, on Feb. 23, when he had to leave the field after only 30 minutes, announced his resignation.

He said at the time: “I’ve been pushing and pushing since the first operation in Kansas City and the second operation in Los Angeles. It’s not really devastating. It’s just that I need more time to rest. I can’t do it like this.”