The Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, is scheduled for surgery Monday following diagnosis of prostate cancer, his office has confirmed.
The robot-assisted keyhole surgery will be done at Singapore General Hospital and the prime minister will be on a one-week medical leave, the office said on its website.
The hospital's lead urologist Christopher Cheng will perform the procedure.
"Mr. Lee decided on the surgical treatment option on the advice of a panel of doctors led by Prof. Cheng, and is expected to recover fully," the statement said.
Magnetic resonance imaging of Lee's prostate showed "suspicious lesions" in January and a subsequent biopsy found cancer cells.
Patients with a similar medical profile who undergo the surgical procedure have a 99 percent survival rate of 15 years, data from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center shows.
Surgery is a common treatment option if the cancer is not thought to have spread outside the gland.
The most usual form is a radical prostatectomy in which the entire prostate gland and some surrounding tissue is removed.
Lee had a previous cancer scare when diagnosed with lymphoma in the 1990s.
Lee, 63, is son of independent Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew, and became the city-state's third prime minister in 2004.
Until he recovers, Teo Chee Hean -- one of Singapore's two deputy prime ministers -- will serve as acting premier.
"Wishing PM Lee a smooth operation and speedy recovery," Teo said in a Twitter post that was retweeted by U.S. Ambassador Kirk Wagar.
As Lee prepares for his surgery there is ongoing speculation about when Singapore may hold a general election.
Although the election is not required until 2013, may observers have suggested it may be called for this year.
The People's Action Party, which Lee heads, has been in power in Singapore since 1959.
Post-surgery, the office of the prime minister released a statement:
"Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's surgery was successful. Prof Cheng confirmed that there is no relationship between the previous lymphoma and the current prostate cancer," PM Lee's official Facebook page read.
"The surgery went very smoothly, and he is expected to recover fully," Dr. Cheng said.
