JOHANNESBURG  — Nelson Mandela on Saturday morning underwent endoscopic surgery to have gall stones removed, President Jacob Zuma’s office said in a statement.

The procedure was successful and Mandela, who has been hospitalized since last weekend due to a recurring lung infection, is recovering, the statement said.

Mandela has not appeared in public since the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa. The former president gets round-the-clock care since abdominal surgery this year and an acute respiratory infection in 2011.