Mini Darth Vader Discharged From Hospital After Open-Heart Surgery

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The boy known as Mini Darth Vader was discharged from Children's Hospital Los Angeles Monday, just four days after having surgery to have a pulmonary heart valve replaced.

Max Page, 7, is best known for playing a pint-sized Darth Vader in a 2011 Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial.

"Well, I'm excited about a lot of things, especially having a milkshake," Max told reporters at the hospital before heading home with his parents and brother Els.

Max was smiling and exuberant as he got ready to head home. He did concede to some pain in his chest.

Max was born with a congenital heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot. Doctors said the valve-replacement surgery was something that had been anticipated – it was just a matter of time.

The youngster has appeared on "The Young and the Restless" and "Prime Suspect," but he is best known for the Super Bowl commercial in which he wears a Darth Vader costume and tries -- unsuccessfully -- to use the "force" around the house. He gets a shock when the "force" appears to start the Volkswagen in the driveway, but it's really his father using the car's remote from inside the house.

Max has been treated at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles since he was an infant and is now an official "junior ambassador," speaking to groups and helping raise money for pediatric research and treatments. He has also visited Washington, D.C. to help oppose cuts to Medicaid.