Nelson Mandela recovering after gallstone surgery

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is recovering after doctors removed gallstones early today.

"He's undergone a successful procedure," Mac Maharaj, spokesman for President Jacob Zuma, said by phone.

This is the second time Mandela has been hospitalized this year after undergoing exploratory abdominal surgery in February. Last year, Mandela received treatment for an acute respiratory infection.

After spending 27 years in prison under South Africa's white-minority government, Mandela was elected the nation's first black president in 1994. He stepped down in 1999.