Heart-Cancer Patient Undergoes Rare Surgery

HOUSTON — Doctors in Texas said Monday they had removed a man’s heart, cut out a malignant tumor the size of a lemon and returned the heart to his body in an operation believed to have been successful only once before.

Michael Reardon, a heart surgeon at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, said the 4 1/2-hour operation went well.

The patient, 36-year-old Walter Ward of Atlanta, appeared to be in good shape, Reardon added.

“So far he’s doing great. I’m real pleased,” Reardon told reporters shortly after completing the surgery.

Reardon and members of his team said Ward was suffering from a rare cancerous tumor in the left atrium of his heart that was threatening to block the flow of blood if it grew any bigger.