SAO PAULO - BRITISH supermodel Naomi Campbell left a Brazilian hospital on Friday, five days after she was rushed in for surgery, the hospital said.

'The patient has recovered well from her surgery, the Hospital Sirio-Libanes said in a statement.

Dr Jose Aristodemo Pinotti, the Brazilian surgeon who attended to Campbell, was quoted by Globo news as saying he had given her permission to leave but recommended she stay in Brazil resting before resuming work.

The hospital said Campbell, 37, was admitted on Sunday although her spokesman in Los Angeles said earlier she went in on Monday.

The spokesman said she had a cyst removed. Dr Pinotti told Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Friday that the model did not have a cyst but declined to specify what she was treated for.

'When a patient asks for discretion, be it Naomi or just plain Maria, I respect their wishes,' he told the newspaper.

Campbell often visits Brazil, where she has been known to show up at Carnival festivities and is frequently photographed at parties with Brazilian celebrities.

British newspapers reported last week that she had become engaged to Marcus Elias, a 49-year-old Brazilian financier, after meeting him at a fashion party in Sao Paulo earlier in February.

Brazilian media said Elias was frequent visitor to her bedside during her stay in the hospital. -- REUTERS