He added that he was feeling "Better, better, better" following the surgery. "I'm finally at home, my home, finally out of the hospital. What can I say? It's a marvelous feeling," he told La Stampa.

Pavarotti gave his final performance at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004 and is in the midst of a worldwide concert tour, originally scheduled to end by his 70th birthday last October. However, he has been plagued recently by a succession of illnesses and injuries, including lower back problems and laryngitis, which have forced him to cancel numerous concerts this year.

The cancer, which was diagnosed during a routine medical test earlier this month, has forced him to cancel all remaining concerts in 2006.