Dierker Has Brain Surgery, Full Recovery Is Expected

Manager Larry Dierker of the Houston Astros is expected to make a full recovery after a 5 1/2-hour operation Tuesday to remove a life-threatening tangle of malformed blood vessels from his brain.

Dierker, who collapsed Sunday when he had a seizure in the Astro dugout during a game in the Astrodome, will be hospitalized five to 10 days and will need at least four weeks to recover from the surgery.

Dr. Rob Parrish said he was confident the entire vessel mass, known as an arteriovenous malformation, was removed from an area where a blood clot hemorrhaged.

“Having an AVM that ruptures is certainly life-threatening,” he said.

He described the malformation as “significant . . . bigger than a walnut, smaller than a melon--maybe a lime, or a really big jalapeno.”

Added the doctor: “Later this week we’ll do another angiogram to make absolutely certain we got all of it out. He’s awake, alert and following commands and looks quite good right now.”

The problem vessels were located just beneath the surface of the front part of Dierker’s brain. Parrish said surgeons cut a “window” in his skull to access the target area.

“We took the blood clot out, sent the blood clot to pathology to make absolutely sure there was no tumor or anything--and there was none,” he said.

He said Dierker asked him before the surgery: “You mean no more head butts?” And Parrish said he replied: “Yes. No more head butts.”