OPERATION WAIT AND SEE

By Paul Quinn-Judge

Dr. Rinat Akchurin, 50, the heart surgeon who may have the daunting honor of operating on President Boris Yeltsin, was nowhere to be found last week. His answering machine invited callers to leave a message; his colleagues said he was resting. And by late last week, despite its new commitment to openness about Yeltsin's health, the Kremlin had not said when the operation would be performed or where and by whom.

"No formal decision has been made yet" to do the surgery at the Cardiological Research Center, its academic secretary, Dr. Igor Ashmarin, insisted to TIME. "But should they finally choose the center," he then conceded, "it will definitely be Akchurin."

On Saturday, the Kremlin announced that Yeltsin had entered Moscow's Central Clinic Hospital for routine preoperative tests. This does not seem to indicate that the operation is imminent. In fact, there are signs it may not happen until October, rather than late September, as originally announced. The main reason seems to be the fear, voiced in the medical world and circles close to the Kremlin, that Yeltsin's health problems may be more serious. "A heart bypass is pretty conventional surgery," says an experienced Moscow surgeon. But, he adds, "the President seems to show symptoms of general atherosclerosis." This makes the bypass a much more delicate undertaking.

That may explain why the Kremlin is saying foreign specialists will be consulted. One of them, Russian officials say, will be Houston's renowned Dr. Michael DeBakey, 88, who helped train Akchurin. Two German cardiologists will also assist. Many more specialists will be in Moscow later this month for an international conference on cardiovascular problems.

--By Paul Quinn-Judge. With reporting by Yuri Zarakhovich/Moscow

With reporting by Yuri Zarakhovich/Moscow