HOUSTON, Nov. 28 -- Former U. S. first lady Barbara Bush has been removed from intensive care and put into a regular hospital room after undergoing ulcer surgery, officials say.

Bush, 83, had surgery Tuesday to repair a perforated ulcer after arriving at the emergency room of Houston's Methodist Hospital complaining of severe abdominal pain, CNN reported. Bush was in good spirits and joking with staffers Thursday after the procedure, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Dr. Patrick Reardon, who performed the surgery, told reporters Wednesday he had cleaned the former first lady's abdominal cavity of contaminants that had leaked through the ulcer, which he described as being one centimeter in diameter.

Former U. S. President George H. W. Bush was at the hospital Thursday morning, but later left to attend Thanksgiving dinner with his son Neil, the hospital spokeswoman told CNN.(UPI)