Accepting new patients

Lara C. Atwater, M.D.

Accepting new patients

  • Associate Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine

Specialty

  • Orthopaedics and rehabilitation

Clinical focus

  • Foot and Ankle
  • Foot and Ankle Rehabilitation
  • Foot and Ankle Sports Injuries

Locations and contact

I see patients at
Tall building with the ariel tram to its left
Center for Health & Healing, Building 1
503-494-8311
Read clinic details

About me

I am a foot and ankle surgeon who offers advanced treatment options and specialized care for a wide variety of conditions, including: 

  • Fractures
  • Arthritis
  • Sports injuries
  • Complex deformities

My clinical interests include total ankle replacement, minimally invasive surgical techniques, deformity correction, and sports injuries. I treat everything from ankle sprains and Achilles ruptures to arthritic conditions that may require ankle replacement surgery. What I love most about my work is maximizing my patients' quality of life—helping you wake up and move through your day without pain.

I take the time to ask questions and understand your goals so you can feel calm and confident about your treatment plan. 

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my young family, hiking, spin classes, outrigger canoe paddling, exploring farmers' markets and watching water polo. 

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.A., 2007, Princeton University
    • M.D., 2012, Georgetown University School of Medicine

  • Residency

    • Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, 2018

  • Fellowship

    • Foot and Ankle Reconstruction, Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, 2019

Memberships and associations:

  • American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, Diplomate
  • American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Fellow
  • American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Association, Active Member
Read faculty profile

Insurance

Before scheduling an appointment

  1. Check your network. If you have health insurance,  call your company to find out if the OHSU Health location or provider you plan to visit is part of your network.
  2. Ask what you will pay. Your insurance company can tell you what your costs are likely to be.

If you schedule an appointment and your health insurance does not include OHSU Health, you may have to pay more than if you go to a provider in your insurance network. 

Visit our billing and insurance page for more information.

Ratings and reviews

Overall: 4.8 out of 5 (152 Ratings, 45 Reviews)

The patient ratings score is an average of all responses to the question "How likely would you be to recommend this provider to your family and friends (on a scale of 0 to 10)" on our nationally-recognized Press Ganey patient surveys.

  1. Dr. Lara Atwater went above and beyond to help me with my issues. I was thrilled to have her check out numerous areas that concerned me.

  2. She is amazing!

  3. Really gifted physician who personalized. Care for my needs.

  4. Dr Atwater listened to my concerns and voiced good options for consideration

  5. Kind and thoughtful and serious.

  6. . Dr Atwater is a specialist and does very well

  7. Dr. Atwater is wonderful! I was awake for most of my 5+ hr surgery because a lower leg nerve block was used. I did not hear a derisive or terse word amongst the surgical team. They worked well together, were on first name basis familiarity most of the time, and were efficient even when Issues unknown prior to surgery were encountered.

  8. My friend was talking about her friend who needs ankle replacement. I immediately recommended Dr. Atwater as she mentioned that is possible in my future. For now, the surgery I had is just fine and she understood that with my history, I would rather not have any more surgeries if I can avoid them. I am so thankful I did this surgery with Dr. Atwater, I will be forever thankful for my life with less pain and the trade off of flexibility has been fine. Dr. Atwater is frankly, really awesome. She is thoughtful, thorough and efficient without being rushed or condescending. The resident I spoke with at this visit, I believe his name is Jason, was also friendly, knowledgeable and took time to review my questions very well.

  9. Dr Atwater and her staff treating me with respect and care I would recommend them

  10. She seemed to care about my problem and came across as knowledgeable.

  11. She was very easy to speak with. She answered all my questions, thoroughly explained my possible surgery procedure and follow up care that would be needed.

  12. Very nice, intelligent, informative. I was comforted and am now confident that she will be able to fix my messed up foot.

  13. Good surgeon, nice and friendly while thorough

  14. Great experience

  15. All were good

  16. Very knowledgeable, experienced, good communication skills and caring.

  17. Dr Atwater is very concerned with my problem and works hard for a good solution

  18. Dr. Atwater is the best of the best! Really knows her stuff, and works fabulously with the patient, with excellent listening and communication skills, and an awesome attitude. Whereas doctors in the Samaritan system (much nearer to where I live) really let me down.

  19. My foot has been damaged biochemically by my previous immunotherapy treatments and resulting inflammation and it has been difficult for my doctors to understand (given our current insurance-imposed, flowcharting constraints) the exact degree of damage done. This has resulted in 4 surgeries.Dr. Atwater and her team are excellent and I'm also amazed that there was a left foot available with a nerve to replace mine at the last possible moment when I changed my mind about having a nerve graft. This speaks volumes for the organizational health required to pull off such a feat. Thank you very much for the new nerve. It seems to be doing well so far.

  20. I am convinced Dr Atwater is going to do the best course of treatment for my particular needs.

  21. Dr. Atwater was kind and professional. She provided evidence based advice and was great to work with!

  22. Doctor was terrific. She obviously cared, asked a lot of questions, and helped me understand things I needed to. Very nice person too.

  23. Lara had such an amazing attitude and listened to my concerns without ever being dismissive. I felt heard and well examined. And as a person with many chronic issues it's important to me to have thorough clinician notes In my chart for me to refer back to. she took amazing notes that addressed all of the things we talked about. She also walked me through the technical stuff while still making my situation feel a little less scary. I have intense fear of medical settings due to past trauma and she was just so chill which helped me so much. Thank you Lara!

  24. She listened to me. Made me feel heard and not just another patient.

  25. Dr. Lara was incredible - from initial welcome to deeply understanding my medical situation, to offering viable - and effective - options to ease my chronic pain. To now wake up and move through my day without pain has given me more reason to smile! The area of concern remains tender, although the decrease in pain has now enabled me to move freely across the stage when delivering high engaging presentations. I am forever grateful. I look forward to my check up appointment to share what her personalized care has made in my life - a POSITIVE difference!!

  26. Easy fast and they seem to be concerned with my needs and care

  27. Very friendly

  28. She was confident, knowledgeable with this specific medical issue and listened to all my concerns.

  29. Excellent doctor/surgeon who listens to my needs and concerns, with an excellent support team

  30. Highly skilled and thorough in addressing my problems. Great surgery results.