Wilson Has Minor Throat Operation

Gov. Pete Wilson on Friday underwent minor outpatient surgery at UCLA Medical Center for the third time in another effort to correct a troubling throat condition that has strained his speaking voice for the last 20 months.

The latest procedure was not good news for the governor. It was ordered by a trio of throat experts who concluded that a second corrective surgery in July had failed.

In that procedure, a fingertip-sized plastic chip was placed in the governor’s throat to try to reposition a vocal cord damaged during the initial surgery in April 1995. This time, surgeons had hoped to reposition or modify the chip, but they were unable to find a better approach.

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Instead, the chip was removed and the governor was told he will have to rely on voice therapy to recover from his malady. Wilson’s physician, Dr. Gerald S. Berke, the chief of the head and neck division at the medical center, said after the surgery Friday that he does not expect any further operations.

Berke, who performed the 40-minute procedure Friday using local anesthetic, also did the two previous operations on the governor.

“We thought we could discontinue some of the cracking” the governor’s voice experienced before July, Berke said. “Next is to give him some time to recover and see how things go.”

Wilson was released from the hospital Friday evening, about four hours after he arrived. Berke said the governor should be able to resume normal working duties by Monday.

He also said Wilson’s condition should continue to improve and, with therapy, he believes a full recovery is still possible.

The governor’s voice has deteriorated so much recently that the obvious strain he showed in holiday appearances prompted rumors in the Capitol that he was in grave condition.

Wilson said in an interview Thursday, however, that his overall health is good and that his throat has shown no signs of illness or cancer.

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“Zip,” said the 63-year-old governor. “I understand there is much speculation about it and that several people . . . are convinced that my days are numbered. I can only say that I am pleased that they are wrong.”

The governor’s office also released statements from the two physicians besides Berke who have examined Wilson. Both agreed there was no sign of malignancy.

“It is my opinion that the governor’s ongoing hoarseness is a result of vocal fold changes secondary to . . . vocal overuse and vocal cord weakness,” wrote Dr. Robert H. Ossoff, executive medical director of the voice center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Wilson was examined by Ossoff in Nashville on Nov. 27 and by Dr. Jatin P. Shah, chief of the head and neck division at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, on Nov. 18.

Wilson’s original condition was discovered during his 1994 reelection campaign when his voice started to crack because a nodule grew on one of his cords.

Doctors have described the nodule as a callus that can develop particularly in professional speakers when there is improper abrasion between the two vocal cords.

Voice therapists have told the governor that his speaking style--from the throat, not the chest--places too much strain on the vocal cords.

In April 1995, barely two weeks after Wilson announced his plans to run for president, Berke removed the nodule.

The recovery was expected to take about a week. But after the procedure, Berke said he was required to remove more tissue from the vocal cord than he had anticipated.

As a result, Wilson was forced to spend more than two months resting his voice.

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He believes that the unexpectedly long recovery fatally crippled his presidential bid at a time when it was struggling to raise money and generate attention.

Even after the recovery, Wilson’s voice remained weak. When it was tested by a heavy speaking schedule, it often deteriorated into a crackling froggy sound or even a throaty whisper.

The governor also admitted that he was a poor patient, frequently violating doctors orders to attend voice therapy classes and to limit his alcohol intake, cigar smoking and speaking on airplanes or in cocktail parties.

Wilson said he is hopeful but uncertain about whether he will ever recover fully from the throat condition. He said, however, that he believes the latest surgery and continued therapy will prevent the voice problems from inhibiting his career.

The governor said, for example, that he is still considering a possible White House bid in 2000 and that he does not believe his voice problem will inhibit his ambition.