WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will undergo surgery Tuesday for an enlarged prostate, the Fed said Monday in an announcement that also said tests last week showed no cancer.

Greenspan is often spoken of as the second-most-powerful man in Washington because of the impact his words and the Federal Reserve’s actions can have on interest rates and the economy in general.

The announcement of his impending surgery was made after Wall Street markets closed for the day.

The surgical procedure will be done at a local hospital that Federal Reserve officials declined to identify. Greenspan will not be under general anesthesia, said spokeswoman Michelle Smith.

The chairman was in his office on Monday and expects to be back at work later this week, the agency said.

Greenspan, who turned 77 in March, has been serving as Fed chairman since August 1987.

His current term as chairman runs to June 20, 2004.

Smith said that Greenspan underwent similar surgery in June 1994.

The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that can enlarge as a man ages, making it difficult to urinate. More than half of all men over 60 have the condition, called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH – and 80 percent of men get it by age 80.

Surgery to trim the prostate is the most common and effective treatment. It usually requires up to three days in the hospital.

An enlarged prostate isn’t cancerous, but it’s often detected with a test that can spot cancer, too. When a man’s blood levels of a substance called PSA, or prostate specific antigen, are high, doctors check for both conditions. Also, urinary symptoms can be similar for both diseases.

Greenspan is generally considered to be in good health.

The Federal Reserve’s next meeting to discuss interest rate policy is on May 6. Smith said Greenspan is expected to attend that meeting.

AP-ES-04-21-03 1745EDT