ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, September 26, 1996           TAG: 9609260070
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: MOSCOW
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
NOTE: Below 

DOCTORS POSTPONE YELTSIN'S SURGERY RUSSIAN LEADER NEEDS 6-10 WEEKS TO HEAL

The decision threatens to leave Moscow without an active leader for most of the winter and prompted the president's potential successors to draw more attention to themselves.

The medical luminaries were upbeat about the delay. They said Yeltsin's condition had improved since a heart attack in late June - unreported at the time - and the delay was needed to ensure success.

``If we were to conduct the operation today, we could expect a positive result. The chances of the positive result would be about 80 percent. But if we give the patient another six weeks to prepare for the operation, the chances of success will be close to 100 percent,'' said Dr. Renat Akchurin, the surgeon who is expected to operate on Yeltsin.

Besides heart muscle damage, DeBakey said Yeltsin had been losing blood in recent months and the cause for this needed to be investigated. ``It is an easily correctable thing, but we have to be sure.''

Kremlin officials are insisting Yeltsin will soon be fit enough to undergo surgery. Any suggestion otherwise could intensify a struggle between his would-be successors and threaten Russia's post-election stability.

LENGTH: Short :   37 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  AP. Boris Yeltsin (left) and American specialist Dr. 
          Michael DeBakey talk about his triple-bypass heart surgery planned 
          in 6 to 10 weeks. color.