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 (158 Ratings, 51 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 Atwater has shown authentic concern to make the final outcome as good as possible

  2. Very satisfied

  3. I wish the doctor would have explained my condition in a bit more detail. I do not even know the clinical name of my upcoming surgery. Perhaps I will learn more as we get closer to the surgery date!

  4. Very helpful, listens well.

  5. To be heard and seen means so much

  6. Dr. Atwater was delightful - friendly, a good listener, but very efficient with assessing the damage in my ankle, with xrays and physical examination, and with presenting my options very clearly. I was also gratified at Dr. Atwater's affirming my hunch to try the more conservative and less invasive approach to dealing with my fractured ankle bone.

  7. Dr. Atwater is highly communicative, excellent in her work ethic and fields of expertise. She is the only surgeon out of 3 I had seen prior to her that would do my foot surgery using a lower leg nerve block. No other practitioner could finesse this long and complicated surgery w/o the use of a General Anesthesia. She explained the procedure well, after care/recovery, presided over the 3 week appt herself due to the complicated nature of the surgery, followed up with phone calls, and responded to MyChart messages promptly.

  8. Dr Atwater and her staff are beyond reproach for their compassion and caring for the patient. They go above and beyond to assist in total care of the patient.

  9. Excellent orthopedic provider. She was patient, friendly, knowledgeable, and very empathetic. Her knowledge was far superior to other orthopedic providers I have already seen. She took her time, listened carefully, and made me feel heard. She explained everything clearly and answered all my questions. An outstanding clinician who truly cares about her patients. Highly recommended.

  10. This was the perfect place to be

  11. Excellent. I'm very appreciative of Dr Atwater's bedside manner, professionalism and capabilities.

  12. Listened and really cared

  13. Dr. Atwater is an amazing surgeon and the rest of the care team just as wonderful (Block team,Anesthesia).

  14. She's brilliant, she's intense, she's kind

  15. I love how open and honest Dr Atwater has been with me. She knew how scared I was and she made me feel comfortable.

  16. Dr Atwater listen to me and explain things did not rush and seemed to actually care

  17. Addressed all my concerns and gave me options

  18. Dr Atwater gave me the respect I wasn't expecting. Problems I've had for years were explained in detail. The procedure was explained to me several times, no promises were made, worst case scenario was explained. I went into the procedure trusting her completely.

  19. Knowledgeable friendly accommodating

  20. 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.

  21. She is amazing!

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

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

  24. Kind and thoughtful and serious.

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

  26. 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.

  27. 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.

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

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

  30. 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.