Dr. Lara Atwater is a fellowship-trained Foot and Ankle Surgeon. She offers advanced treatment options and specialized care for a wide variety of foot and ankle injuries, conditions and disorders. Clinical interests include total ankle arthroplasty, minimally invasive surgical techniques, deformity correction and sports injuries. She treats fractures, arthritic conditions, and soft tissue injuries including ankle sprains and Achilles ruptures. During both residency and fellowship training, Dr. Atwater was mentored by Dr. Lew Schon, a top inventor and thought leader in the field of Foot and Ankle Surgery.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Dr. Atwater graduated with a degree in American History at Princeton University. She attended Georgetown University Medical School where she was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), the medical honor society. Dr. Atwater completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at Johns Hopkins University, where as a Chief Resident she received the prestigious Miller Coulson Award for Clinical Excellence. She also was honored with the Byank Servant Leadership Award in Orthopaedics, an honor voted on by junior residents to recognize teaching and mentoring by a senior resident.

Following residency, Dr. Atwater completed a fellowship at the prestigious Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, MD. She has authored and published multiple peer-reviewed studies and book chapters, in addition to speaking at national conferences.  She is a reviewer of scientific articles for Foot and Ankle International, the flagship publication of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society.

Dr. Atwater chose to pursue her medical training at Georgetown University because the program was grounded in the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, or care for the whole person. She chose a career in orthopaedics because it helps maximize patients’ quality of life.

When she is not working Dr. Atwater enjoys spending time with her young family, hiking, spin classes, outrigger canoe paddling, cooking/farmers markets and watching water polo games.