Ganga Ram hospital, where Tibetan Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama underwent a surgery in New Delhi, India, Friday, Oct. 10, 2008.

The Dalai Lama underwent a successful surgery in India Friday to remove gallstones.

A spokesman Tenzin Takhla for the Tibetan spiritual leader said he expects him to be released from the hospital in a day or two.

The 73-year-old Dalai Lama was admitted to a hospital in New Delhi Thursday for what aides described as routine tests.

According to the Mayo Clinic (a U.S.-based not-for-profit medical practice), gallstones are deposits of cholesterol or calcium salts that form in the gallbladder. Treatment is usually straightforward, and surgery is common.

The Nobel laureate received a routine follow-up medical examination earlier this week. Doctors found nothing wrong and cleared him to resume foreign travel. He was supposed to return home Thursday.

In August, the Dalai Lama was admitted to an Indian hospital for what was described as "abdominal discomfort" -- a symptom of gallstones. He canceled two foreign trips during his four-day hospital stay.

Following the advice of his doctors, the Dalai Lama also canceled trips to Germany and Switzerland after being discharged from the hospital. He has spent most of his time since then resting in Dharamsala, the headquarters of Tibet's government-in-exile in northern India.

The Tibetan spiritual leader has lived in Dharamsala since fleeing Tibet in 1959, after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.