CARACAS (Reuters) - Surgeons removed a lesion from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's pelvis and the socialist leader is in "good physical condition" after the operation, his vice president said on Tuesday.

Chavez, 57, had new surgery in Cuba despite his previous insistence that he had been cured of cancer after two procedures by doctors in Havana last year.

The latest health setback has fueled fresh doubts about Chavez's health, his ability to campaign for re-election in October and his fitness to govern the South American nation for another six-year term if he wins.

"President Chavez is in good physical condition. ... The pelvic lesion was extracted completely along with the surrounding tissue," Vice President Elias Jaua told Venezuela's parliament in Caracas, smiling as jubilant supporters applauded and chanted "Chavez will not leave!"

"There were no complications relating to his local organs. ... He is recovering correctly," Jaua added, saying tests would be carried out on the extracted tissue in the coming hours to determine whether the lesion had been malignant.

The vice president did not say what type of cancer Chavez has been fighting. Jaua did not mention any possible follow-up treatment, and did not say when Chavez would return home.

One medical source close to the team that had been treating the Chavez in Venezuela said the surgery on Monday night at Havana's closely guarded Cimeq Hospital had lasted 90 minutes.

Before departing Venezuela on Friday, Chavez said he would need surgery on a probably malignant lesion found in his pelvis, where a large cancerous tumor was removed in June. He has also said he might need radiation treatment after the new operation, raising the prospect of another lengthy convalescence.

"President Chavez appreciates, from his heart, the warm support he has received from the Venezuelan people, as well as the countless expressions of solidarity from men and women all over the world," Jaua said.

Sunil Daryanani, an oncologist at the Hospital de Clnicas Caracas, said the vice president presented a positive scenario, but that many details remained unknown.

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Venezuela says Chavez fine after Cuba surgery