( CNN ) -- Doctors are `` satisfied '' with Nelson Mandela 's progress three days after he underwent endoscopic surgery to remove gall stones , but he will remain under their care for the time being , the office of the South African president said in a statement Tuesday . According to the statement , doctors said `` there is no crisis , but add that they are in no hurry to send him home just yet until they are satisfied that he has made sufficient progress . '' `` We urge the public to continue supporting Madiba , but at the same time to understand that he is 94 years old and needs extraordinary care , '' the South African presidency said . `` If he spends more days in the hospital , it is because that necessary care is being provided . '' Read more : Nelson Mandela has lung infection . Mandela , who has been hospitalized for 11 days because of a recurring lung infection , 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 . According to the statement , presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj went to see the former president Tuesday and reported , `` He is looking much better , '' and that the former president asked , `` Mac , what are you doing here ? '' `` I asked him not give doctors any trouble , '' Maharaj said . The Nobel Peace Prize winner spent 27 years in prison for fighting against oppression of blacks in South Africa . He became the nation 's first black president in 1994 , four years after he was freed . South Africa last month launched a new batch of banknotes with a picture of a smiling Mandela on the front .
Nelson Mandela underwent a procedure to remove gall stones on Saturday . Mandela , 94 , still requires `` extraordinary care , '' the South African presidency says . The Nobel laureate has been hospitalized for 11 days . A presidential spokesperson says he joked with the former president during a visit Tuesday .