Dr. Richard Lawton, Ph.D.

Dr. Lawton is a Mayo Clinic-trained, board certified fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon at Durango Orthopedics. Dr. Lawton specializes in the treatment of knee, hip and elbow problems. He addresses most problems with non-operative treatments, but for those patients requiring surgery, he utilizes arthroscopic or minimally invasive techniques. He has special interest in sports related injuries, arthritis and all elbow problems.

Dr. Lawton completed his undergraduate degree at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Dr. Lawton is also an accomplished athlete himself, which provides him with special insight into the challenges of competitive sports and the specialty of sports medicine. For example, during college, he played football and earned six Varsity letters — four in football and two in baseball. After college, he went on to earn a graduate degree from DePaul University in Chicago. At DePaul, he was a Schmitt Academic Scholar, the baseball team captain and studied on a full assistantship. Dr. Lawton earned his medical degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was on academic scholarship, serving as Class President for three years.

Dr. Lawton then went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he completed his residency in orthopedic surgery. There, he received the E.W. Johnson Award and the Mark B. Coventry Awards for Excellence in Clinical Research and was a nominee for the Charles Neer Award for Excellence in Clinical Research.

Dr. Lawton completed a fellowship at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colorado, where he specialized in shoulder and knee reconstruction and sports medicine.  He is one of only three doctors in the world who has trained at both the Mayo Clinic and Steadman-Hawkins. The Steadman-Hawkins Clinic is regarded as one of the world’s top sports medicine clinics, treating World Cup soccer players and athletes from the NFL, NBA, U.S. Ski Team and Major League Baseball. During his time at this world-renowned clinic, Dr. Lawton was the assistant team physician for the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos' and Colorado Rockies.

Dr. Lawton has been an instructor at the Mayo Clinic since 2001, teaching surgery techniques in the elbow and shoulder to other surgeons. He is the founder of the Rocky Mountain Sports Medical Foundation, a founding member of the Rocky Mountain Shoulder and Elbow Society, served as the Chief of Surgery at Mercy Medical Center from 2004-2005, 2007-2008 and served as the President of Medical Staff at Mercy Medical Center in 2006. He has been published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgeries, the Clinical Orthopedics Related Research, the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery and the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics.

Click here to read about the Rocky Mountain Sports Medicine Foundation.

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