Atwater Has Non-Malignant Growth in Head

Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater, who collapsed Monday as he gave a speech, has a non-malignant growth in the right side of his head, it was disclosed Tuesday.

The neurosurgeon who is treating him said the 39-year-old Atwater would be released from the hospital this week.

“No surgery is planned, and we expect no difficulty with follow-up treatments,” Dr. Edward R. Laws, chairman of the department of neurosurgery at George Washington University Medical Center, said in a statement released by the Republican National Committee. Atwater “may resume a reasonable work schedule and normal activities next week.”

Laws did not say what the treatments would be, but sources said radiation is a likely course.

Atwater was hospitalized Monday after he fainted while addressing a group of Republican financial contributors at a downtown Washington hotel. The growth was discovered after he underwent a battery of tests and a 2 1/2-hour biopsy at the hospital.

Leslie Goodman, GOP National Committee press secretary, said Atwater had kept in touch with activities at the committee during his hospital stay, had received visitors and was in good spirits.

She said that after the growth was discovered, Atwater, whose aggressive tactics as a political strategist have made him a controversial figure, told her: “Now you can let my critics know there is something in my head.”

Atwater was appointed national chairman by President Bush after he managed Bush’s successful presidential campaign against Democrat Michael S. Dukakis in 1988. The President telephoned Atwater to wish him well, according to White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. Atwater also received calls from former Presidents Ronald Reagan, whom Atwater served in two presidential campaigns, and Richard M. Nixon.

Atwater and his wife, Sally, have two daughters. She is expecting a third child next month.

Medical experts said Tuesday that the information released by Laws, who is a highly-regarded neurosurgeon, was insufficient to discuss Atwater’s case. Also, they emphasized that no diagnosis is final until all the tests on the tissue samples are complete--a process that typically takes several days.

“If the doctors felt it could be removed surgically, they probably would have done that instead of a biopsy,” said Dr. Conrad Kufta, a neurosurgeon at the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke. “As a general rule, if you find a lesion, the idea is to find out what it is and remove it. If you can’t remove it safely, then you get a little piece and find out what it is.”