Castro Doesn't Have Cancer, Doc Says

Cuba's acting President Raul Castro sits next to Fidel Castro's empty chair during Cuba's parliament year-end session in Havana Friday, Dec. 22, 2006. Parliament opened with Fidel Castro's chair empty, in the first meeting of the Communist nation's legislature since Cuba's 80-year-old leader fell ill.(AP Photo/Javier Galeano) (Javier Galeano - AP)

MADRID, Spain -- The Spanish surgeon treating Fidel Castro on Tuesday said the ailing Cuban leader does not have cancer and is recovering "slowly but progressively" from a serious operation.

Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido flew to Havana last Thursday to see the Cuban leader and determine how his treatment was progressing. At a news conference, the surgeon refused to clarify what ailment Castro is suffering from, which Cuba has classified as a state secret.

Castro, 80, has not appeared in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July, but has since released little information on his condition. Castro placed his younger brother, Raul, in charge of the government.

"He hasn't got cancer," Garcia Sabrido said at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon Hospital, where he is chief surgeon.

"It is not planned that he will undergo another operation for the moment," he said. "His condition is stable. He is recovering slowly but progressively."

Garcia Sabrido was referring to the intestinal surgery that Castro underwent this summer.

Castro is in great spirits and "wants to return to work every day," he said.

Spanish authorities on Monday confirmed that Garcia Sabrido had traveled to Cuba's capital with advanced medical equipment to determine if Castro needed additional surgery.

Cuban authorities deny Castro suffers from terminal cancer as U.S. intelligence officials have said, but have nonetheless stopped insisting Castro will return to power.