Councilman Rudolph in Good Condition After 5-Hour Heart Transplant Surgery

Veteran Lawndale City Councilman Larry Rudolph was in good condition Thursday after receiving a heart transplant during a five-hour operation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

“It’s like a dream,” his wife, Shirley Rudolph, said in a telephone interview. “We were losing him. His heart was dying and his time was running out. Now it’s hard to believe that it’s over and he has a new heart.”

In a gesture of support, Lawndale residents in the past few weeks have displayed red ribbons and plastic foam hearts in their front yards, anxious for Rudolph’s recovery. Word came shortly after midnight Tuesday that a matching heart had been found, and the operation got under way about 6 a.m. Wednesday, his wife said.

Since the surgery, performed by Dr. Alberto Trento, the 55-year-old Rudolph has remained in intensive care. He is expected to be in the hospital for about 10 days, and then will recuperate at home for about two months, said Debbie Harasty, heart transplant coordinator at Cedars-Sinai. Rudolph plans to run for his council seat again in 1994, and even wants to participate in the annual Lawndale 5-K run in October, 1994.

“He’s doing great,” Harasty said. “He told (his cardiologist, Lawrence Czer) that he was feeling better already.”

The councilman had undergone heart bypass operations in 1977 and 1981, and an angioplasty in 1989. After falling ill in February, he was admitted to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital and later continued outpatient care there.

Rudolph has remained at Cedars-Sinai since April 26, when he was first admitted for tests. Doctors decided on May 14 that he was a suitable heart transplant recipient, his wife said, and kept him there while a donor heart was being sought.

Shirley Rudolph said she has slept little since the operation, calling friends and family members to tell them the news. While the transplant was performed, Harasty came to the waiting area and updated her at each critical part of the procedure.

“Before the surgery, the last thing he said was ‘You better be here when I come back,’ ” she said.

When she visited his glass-enclosed room Wednesday night, she yelled through a small crack in the door, “I’m here. I love you. Get some rest.”

“He knew I was there,” she said. “He shook his head and said, ‘Yes,’ and then he waved his hand.”