David Anderson of DuBois wishes he could have seen the “robot” that assisted with his knee replacement surgery but he’s very pleased with the outcome none-the-less.

He had known he needed his left knee replaced for about five years and finally decided it was time to do something about it.

And so he reached out to Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Derek Weichel at Beatrice Community Hospital and in April he became one of the first patients to have a knee replaced by Weichel using a new robotic-assisted surgery that uses real-time data and individual anatomy analysis to place the knee with maximum precision, offering patients a more realistic-feeling knee.

Anderson said he’s very pleased with the outcome and he’s back to doing the farming chores he loves, caring for the calves, cutting hedge, fixing fence, and gardening.

While the surgery is done at BCH, Weichel sees patients in an outreach clinic at the Pawnee County Memorial Hospital Specialty Clinic and Anderson had his physical therapy at the Pawnee hospital.

“He’s my man - Dr. Weichel – he did a heckuva job,” Anderson said.