Guinn recovering after cancer surgery

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A two-hour surgery on Gov. Kenny Guinn Monday to remove a cancerous prostate gland apparently was a success, and a Las Vegas physician said the governor should be going home within the week.

Guinn, 66, who has registered at the hospital under a different name, is reported awake today and feeling better.

"He's out of bed and sitting in a chair," said Dr. Ikram Khan, a Las Vegas surgeon who has become the spokesman for Guinn. "The patient is doing very well, cracking jokes."

Guinn's wife, Dema, said the governor is walking up and down the hallways at the hospital. And he is telling jokes to his family in the room.

"He's doing great. We should be home (Wednesday) or the next day," she said.

Kahn was in the operating room at UCLA Medical Center during the operation that started at 7:30 a.m. Monday, calling it a "major surgery." The surgery caught Guinn's office off-guard. The governor apparently did not tell his staff. Greg Bortolin, press secretary for Guinn, said this was a personal decision by the governor.

After his annual medical examination, Guinn announced in July his Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) level was 5.4. A normal level for a person in his 60s is 4.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Jean B. deKernion, chairman of the UCLA Department of Urology. In the operating room were Kahn and Dr. Ranjit Jain, a urologist from Las Vegas.

"Thanks to early detection, I had many options presented to me. I chose Dr. deKernion at UCLA based upon the recommendation of my physicians in Las Vegas," Guinn said before the surgery.

Kahn said he, Jain and Dr. Sara Smith, Guinn's family physician, told the governor of his options, including the type of operation, the choice of the surgeon and where to have it done. Kahn said Guinn and his family made the final decision.

While Guinn is out of state, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt will be in charge.

"Hopefully there will not be anything traumatic and he will be back on the job soon," Hunt said.

Hunt said she has been acting governor before and does not plan any major actions.

Hunt said Guinn informed her several days ago of the impending surgery.

Hunt said she does not plan to leave the state while Guinn is in the California hospital.

Guinn timed the surgery to occur after he announced $38 million in agency cuts to help offset a $300 million deficit in the state's budget. It is six weeks before the general election in which he is heavily favored to win a second term.

Marybel Batjer, chief of staff to the governor, said there probably would be no major decisions made while Guinn is in the hospital. She said the governor wanted to get the budget cuts done and then take care of his personal health.

"He put the state first," she said.

Batjer said she will be in daily contact with the governor on the issues and she will also brief the lieutenant governor who is now acting governor while Guinn is in the hospital.

She expects Guinn to start "working the telephone and doing paper work" when he returns to Las Vegas, and possibly even while he is recuperating.

Batjer said she talked with Dema Guinn who is at the governor's bedside. "She thinks they clearly made the right decision," Batjer said. Dema and the doctors are very pleased with the outcome, said Batjer. "There are no complications and the cancer was contained in the prostate as expected."

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting men. More than 200,000 diagnoses are made each year nationwide and 40,000 men die annually from the disease.

Kahn said those who undergo surgery have a very good success rate.

One possible side effect of the operations is impotency.

Guinn's cancer was detected by Smith during a routine physical. Guinn then consulted Jain, who conducted 10 biopsies. The first nine found no sign of cancer. However, in the 10th biopsy, five percent of the cells were determined to be cancerous.

At the time Dr. Jain said the cancer was detected in an early stage.

While serving as governor in 1996, Bob Miller announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and he underwent successful surgery at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He has been cancer-free since then.