'Teen Mom' Star Cory Wharton Talks Baby Girl's Successful Heart Surgery

"Teen Mom" star Cory Wharton might be the happiest man in the world after his daughter's successful heart surgery ... and he tells TMZ about the new perspective he's been given when we caught up with him Wednesday.

Cory's 3-year-old daughter Maya -- who he shares with Taylor Selfridge -- has only just gotten out of Children's Hospital Los Angeles after being there the last 2 weeks, but they left with some great news ... their baby girl is going to be OK!

Cory tells us, "We knew when my girlfriend was pregnant that she was going to require 2 open-heart surgeries, and we got through ... We finally got through."

Maya suffered from tricuspid atresia -- a rare and serious congenital heart defect. While it was very tough for the whole family, Cory told us perspective was key to helping him keep a sane mind through the most trying times of their ordeal.

"I was just happy that we were able to leave the Children's Hospital, because there's a lot of families there that aren't going to leave," he shared. "They're waiting a year or 2 for a heart transplant."

He continued ... "There was people in that building that found a way to smile. Just by talking to them over time, I was just like, 'These people are staying positive when they're at their lowest.'"

Fully inspired, Cory says now the biggest thing for him is to give back.

He explained ... "I'm trying to do what I can to try to help out Children's Hospital or young ones that are in need ... it's a far cry from MTV, but I wanna try to do something positive with what I got going now."