Neglecting Condition Could Have Caused Paralysis : Mrs. Dukakis’ Operation a Success

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital on Friday successfully completed delicate neck surgery on Kitty Dukakis, removing dangerously deteriorated spinal discs that could have left the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis paralyzed.

The 51-year-old Mrs. Dukakis is “awake, she’s neurologically intact and everybody’s very happy, including Mrs. Dukakis,” surgeon Nicholas T. Zervas, a longtime family friend, said after the nearly five-hour operation.

Added spinal surgeon Lawrence Borges: “The operation went very well; there were no problems at all.”

Mrs. Dukakis’ first request was for “ice cream and a massage,” her obviously relieved husband told reporters. “I’m prepared to provide both,” he joked, “but I’m not sure I’m going to be permitted to.”

The Massachusetts governor, who had cut short his campaigning in California on Thursday to spend the night with his wife at the hospital, said he plans to go back on the road today, traveling to New Jersey.

California Return

Dukakis will return to California Sunday night but, aides said, he will almost certainly not reschedule the debate with his rival, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, that he canceled Thursday in order to be with his wife. Jackson told reporters Thursday that he hoped time could be found for the debate before Tuesday’s primary election in California.

Kitty Dukakis, meanwhile, will have to wear a neck brace for most of the next two months, but doctors predict that she will be able to resume traveling with her husband in time for the Democratic convention in mid-July.

Mrs. Dukakis checked into the hospital Wednesday night after complaining of numbness and discomfort in her hands and feet. Tests performed in Los Angeles earlier in the week had indicated that the problem was caused by deterioration of two of her spinal discs--flat circular pieces of cartilage that sit like stiff cushions between each of the bones in the spine.

While doctors usually do not recommend surgery for herniated discs, Mrs. Dukakis’ case was more serious than most because the discs were pressing directly against her spinal cord, rather than rubbing into one of the other nerves that branch off from the spine. Her condition had been worsening rapidly for the last several days.

Incision Into Neck

In Friday’s operation, Zervas and spinal surgeon Borges made an incision on the left side of Mrs. Dukakis’ neck, just above the collar bone, cutting back around the neck to expose the spine.

After confirming that the other discs in her neck were normal, the doctors removed the damaged discs, both of which had ruptured into small fragments that were pressing against the spinal cord.

Had the disc fragments not been removed in time, Borges said, the pressure could have caused permanent damage to the nerves in the spinal cord, causing “paralysis from the shoulders down.”

While Zervas and Borges operated on Mrs. Dukakis’ neck, orthopedic surgeon Frederick Mansfield removed a small portion of her hip bone, cut it in two and wedged the pieces into place where the discs had been. There, the bones will fuse together, taking the place of the missing discs and preserving the neck’s strength.

The operation, known as a cervical laminectomy and fusion, is performed frequently but is considered delicate because of the risk of damaging one of the many vital nerves in and around the spinal column. Tests after the operation, however, indicate that Mrs. Dukakis’ nerve responses are “normal,” Borges said. “We anticipate a full recovery.”

Postoperative Care

Doctors planned to keep Mrs. Dukakis in postoperative intensive care overnight. She will then spend about a week in the hospital before returning home. She will be required to wear a neck brace until the bone grafts have fused, a process that normally takes six to eight weeks, Borges said.

Zervas said Mrs. Dukakis will not have to undergo any particular physical therapy and should not expect to suffer any renewed back problems. Because of the incision in her hip, she can be expected to limp for several weeks but should not otherwise suffer any major discomfort from the operation, he said.

Friends and family members said Mrs. Dukakis remained in good spirits through her ordeal. Thursday, when her father, Harry Ellis Dickson, arrived at the hospital, she chided him for frowning. “Daddy, don’t have such a long face, I’m going to be fine,” Dickson recounted his daughter saying.

And Zervas told reporters that shortly before the operation, Mrs. Dukakis asked him which of the surgeons was going to be doing the majority of the work. Told that Borges would be taking the lead, she admonished Zervas: “You make sure he goes to the press conference, then.”