Dave Dravecky underwent surgery to amputate his left arm and shoulder, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center said this morning, and the former major league pitcher asked all his well-wishers to "continue to pray for us . . ."
The surgery was performed Tuesday by Dr. Murray Brennan, chairman of the department of surgery at the hospital. The operation removed the arm and shoulder that had brought Dravecky so much success as a pitcher with the San Francisco Giants. In the end, they had become the source of too much pain for him to endure.In a statement issued through the hospital, the doctor said the 21/2-hour operation was performed only after all other options had been exhausted and it became necessary "due to progressive pain and loss of function" resulting from the cancer in his arm.
The hospital said Dravecky's longterm prognosis was excellent.
Dravecky said in the statement that he and his wife, Jan, "want to thank everyone for their prayers and concern. Your prayers truly have been felt. We have experienced such peace that it is amazing."
Dravecky said he now was looking forward to getting back to a "normal" life.
"I look forward to working out and doing all those things I have been unable to do for two long years," he said.
The amputation first was confirmed late Tuesday by Atlee Hammaker, who pitched with Dravecky for the Giants and is one of his best friends.
"He was prepared as anybody can be, but it's a tough deal," Hammaker said.
Hammaker said Dravecky's father told him that two more tests were taken on Dravecky's arm before the decision was made to amputate.
"After the second test, it was decided to take it," Hammaker said.
It was announced last week that Dravecky's arm, in which cancer was diagnosed in 1988, would be amputated at the shoulder. On Monday, his agent, Sealy Yates, said it was uncertain whether the amputation would take place.
The surgery, the fourth on Dravecky's arm since the cancer was detected, began at 1 p.m., according to Yates.
In a statement last week, Dravecky said he was resigned to having the arm amputated.
"In as much as there is a certain amount of fear involved in losing my arm, reflecting upon my past eight or nine months, it is a sense of almost relief that I feel," Dravecky said.
Dravecky is expected to be in the hsopital about 10 days, then recuperate at home in Ohio for 10 days before returning to Sloan-Kettering for examination.
Dravecky, 35, underwent his first operation Oct. 7, 1988, after a cancerous tumor was diagnosed in the primary throwing muscle of his left arm. Doctors conducted an eight-hour operation to remove a malignant tumor and nearly half the deltoid muscle and told him he never would pitch again.
Ten months later, Dravecky was back on the mound and pitched seven shutout innings for the Giants in a 4-3 victory.