Schuller Recuperating After Second Operation : Surgery: The Crystal Cathedral founder is said to be in ‘good spirits’ after doctors in Amsterdam removed a small blood clot Tuesday.

Televangelist Robert H. Schuller underwent a second surgery Tuesday in Amsterdam to remove a small blood clot, but his prospects for a full recovery from a cerebral hemorrhage remained good, a Schuller aide said Tuesday.

Schuller, who was conscious and talking to relatives after the one-hour surgery, turned to his doctor and wanted to know when he could return to the United States, said Schuller aide Michael C. Nason in the Netherlands.

“The doctor told him, ‘I’ll talk about that tomorrow,’ ” Nason said, adding that Schuller “was cognizant” and in “good spirits.” Family members still hope that they can bring the founder of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove home in time for his 65th birthday on Monday, said church officials here. But Bruce Larson, co-pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, said no one is pressing doctors for an early return.

Larson, who described Tuesday’s surgery “as remedial,” said the airplane trip from Amsterdam takes 13 hours and “we want everything to be OK.”

Dr. J. Wolbers, senior neurosurgeon at the Free University Hospital in Amsterdam, told Nason that Tuesday’s surgery involved “a small (2-inch) incision where we found the source of the clot and fluid between the skull and the dura. The epidural hematoma was removed, and no further bleeding was evident nor expected,” Wolbers said.

The first surgery was to remove the clot that was between Schuller’s brain and skull, Larson said. Tuesday’s surgery, which was “more remedial,” involved the area between the skull and the skin.

The injury occurred last week, when Schuller bumped his head while getting into a car in Amsterdam. He had been en route to Rome for a Vatican visit and to Moscow.

Later, Schuller complained of dizziness, which he attributed to jet lag. But the next morning, Nason found Schuller unconscious on the floor of his hotel room.

He was then rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency brain surgery.

Last Thursday, Schuller’s family and followers got a scare when his health took a turn for the worse when doctors discovered swelling and blood residue between the brain and skull. Medication overcame the complication, but doctors on Monday decided to again perform surgery after meeting with family members to discuss results of a CAT scan of Schuller that confirmed a slight hematoma which continued to cause pressure on the brain.

Schuller, Nason said, was an active participant in the pre-surgery discussion. After the doctor’s briefing, Nason quoted Schuller as saying, “Let’s do it.”

After Tuesday’s surgery, Schuller was returned to his private room in the hospital, where he talked with his wife, Arvella, son Robert, and son-in-law, Paul Dunn.

“I talked to him on three different occasions today and he came out of surgery fine,” Nason said. “He’s very cognizant, and the doctors were very delighted with the surgery.”

The surgery was performed only a day after Schuller had donned a Los Angeles Rams cap, stepped onto a hospital balcony in Amsterdam and posed for photographers, giving a positive thumbs-up sign.

Since Schuller’s accident, mail from well-wishers sent to the Crystal Cathedral has gone up considerably. Sunday’s “Hour of Power” television program received about 20,000 pieces of mail, up from an average of 12,000 weekly, Larson said.

The minister also has received telegrams from Vice President Dan Quayle and Schuller’s friend and mentor, Norman Vincent Peale.

Larson said that in Quayle’s letter of Sept. 5, “The vice president . . . told him to ‘mind the doctor.’ ”