Rodney “Sarge” Fritz, a retired Hanover, Kansas, minister, is happily recovering from his second knee replacement surgery.

A few years ago he had his left knee done and in May he became one of the first patients to have robotic-assisted knee surgery done at Beatrice Community Hospital.

Both knees, handicapped by arthritis, were done by Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Derek Weichel and Fritz is still comparing the outcome, although he’s leaning toward the robotic process because of the thinner scar and the fact that so far recovery is about two months ahead of where he was at the same time with the first knee surgery.

The new  robotic-assisted surgery that Weichel performs uses real-time data and individual anatomy analysis to place the knee with maximum precision, offering patients a more realistic-feeling knee.

“I would certainly recommend Dr. Weichel,” Fritz said.

He said Dr. Weichel explained everything perfectly, and he appreciated the information he learned in Joint Camp, a free class offered at BCH to explain what happens before, during and after surgery.

While he enjoyed being spoiled by the recovery nurses while in the hospital, Fritz said he is working hard in physical therapy to get back to full use of his knee so he can return to gardening and his second passion - using his cutting torch for salvaging metal.