Little Darth Vader Max Page Recovering Following Open-Heart Surgery

Young actor best known for his portrayal of the Star Wars character in a popular Volkswagen commercial successfully underwent a procedure to replace his pulmonary valve

The Force is clearly strong with this one.

Max Page, the 7-year-old actor who played a miniature Darth Vader in a memorable Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial last year, is recuperating nicely after undergoing open-heart surgery on Thursday.

"The surgery went very well," said cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Vaughn Starnes in a statement. "We had to replace the pulmonary valve, which we did without incident."

Page, who also appears as Reed on The Young and the Restless, is currently recovering in the intensive care unit at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and is expected to be hospitalized for about five days. He was born with a congenital heart defect and has had multiple surgeries prior to the one performed yesterday.

"Last night Max spent all night making us laugh," the boy's father, Buck, said in a statement on Thursday. "Even this morning, while he was laying there waiting for this, he kept telling us, 'Everything is going to be fine.'"

Here's to a speedy recovery, Max.