German Doctors To Assist In Yeltsin Surgery

Boris Yeltsin “gratefully accepted” an offer Friday from German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to have two leading German cardiologists assist in the Russian president’s heart surgery.

Yeltsin spoke by telephone with the German leader. Kohl - Yeltsin’s friend and most ardent supporter in Europe - visited the ailing president a week ago.

Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin also had a telephone conversation with Kohl on Friday to discuss the German surgeons’ role, Russian news agencies said.

Yeltsin is expected to have bypass surgery in late September or early October at the Cardiology Center in Moscow, after months of apparently debilitating heart problems. The Kremlin’s chief physician, Dr. Sergei Mironov, said a date would be set after a doctors’ meeting toward the end of the month.

The Kremlin physician disclosed Thursday that foreign specialists, including American heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, will be asked to advise the Russian team that will perform the bypass surgery.