Fitch in Stable Condition After Emergency Bypass

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch was listed in stable condition Friday after undergoing emergency triple-bypass surgery Thursday night at a hospital near his home in suburban Houston.

Fitch, 62, was rushed to the Columbia Conroe Regional Medical Center after complaining of chest pains. Doctors said that one of the vessels leading to Fitch’s heart was completely blocked, another was 95% blocked and another had 75% blockage.

“He had pretty significant coronary disease,” said Dr. Connie Hutton, who performed the surgery. “He was more or less in the process of having [a heart attack]. He had one vessel totally occluded and he’d built in a collateral vessel around to it that prevented him from having a full-blown heart attack. He had some weakness in his anterior wall of his heart, but once we got the bypass done and the blood flow restored, it came back to normal.

“The outlook is very good. He should be able to get back to all the things he’s done before. We hope we can alter some of his risk factors to try to prevent this from happening again.

“We want him to watch his diet, get on a good exercise program and try to get his blood pressure down. I would say he should try to relieve all the stress, but being an NBA coach it would be hard to do all that.”

Fitch, who was said to be resting comfortably in the cardiac care unit, is expected to be moved to a regular room today. Hutton said he’ll probably remain in the hospital for three to five days.

Clipper physician Tony Daly thinks Fitch, who has no previous history of heart problems, will be able to resume his duties in a month, barring any complications.

“I talked to the surgeon and the cardiologist and they think that if everything is uncomplicated that he’ll return,” Daly said. “I think he’ll be back [at work] in four to six weeks.”

Clipper spokesman Joe Safety expects Fitch, who has compiled a 46-118 mark in two seasons with the Clippers, to be able to return to work before the team opens training camp Oct. 4.

“It’s premature to think about when he’ll return,” Safety said. “We haven’t had any conversation about that; right now all we care about is his well-being.”

Safety said he spoke with Fitch after the surgery and the coach’s attitude was “very positive.”

Fitch is the second coach of a Los Angeles pro sports team to undergo heart surgery in the last two months.

Former Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, 68, underwent an angioplasty after suffering a heart attack in June. Lasorda ended his 20-year managerial career when he announced his resignation July 29 and was promoted to vice president.

Fitch, who has coached 1,886 NBA games, more than any other coach, is the fourth-winningest coach in league history behind Lenny Wilkens, Red Auerbach and Dick Motta with a record of 891-995 in 23 seasons with five teams.

He guided the Boston Celtics to the 1981 NBA title and led the Houston Rockets to the 1986 NBA finals, losing to the Celtics.