Lesion Removed from Venezuela's Chavez in Surgery
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was in good condition Tuesday after surgeons in Cuba "totally extracted" a lesion from the same pelvic area where they cut out a cancerous tumor last year, Vice President Elias Jaua said.
"The diagnosed pelvic lesion was totally extracted," said Jaua, adding that that "surrounding tissue" was also removed and that there were "no complications" with nearby organs.
Venezuelan officials have never specified what kind of cancer Chavez suffered from, but have denied that the cancer has spread to other organs.
The operation in Havana "took place according to plan, and the result was satisfactory, after which a recovery plan has been programmed to take place in the next days," Jaua said.
"President Chavez is in good physical condition," he said, reading a statement on Chavez's health during a special radio and television broadcast.
Jaua said doctors will study the results of the operation to determine "the optimum way to treat the lesion."
Chavez declared himself cancer-free last October, only to deliver the shocking news on February 21 that a small lesion had been discovered.
"Nobody can say right now that it is another malignant tumor," he said at the time, adding that "the likelihood that it is malignant is greater than that it is not."
The possible return of Chavez's cancer has cast doubt over his October 7 re-election bid, likely to be the most closely contested presidential election in years.
Chavez, 57, who remains the active duty president while away from Venezuela, has been in power since 1999.
Chavez, a leftist anti-American firebrand, faces a strong challenge from 39-year-old Henrique Capriles, who was chosen as the sole opposition candidate in a primary earlier this month.
Chavez has used Venezuela's vast oil wealth to help keep his Communist ally Cuba afloat for a decade, as he courted anti-U.S. allies from Iran to Syria to Libya and Bolivia.
His survival in power is pivotal for both his nation -- South America's preeminent oil power and an OPEC member -- and Cuba, which depends on Venezuela for cheap oil.
As during his initial cancer care in Havana last year, Chavez did not delegate power to Jaua as some opposition members sought.
Source: Agence France Presse
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