Before Dr. Douglas Lucas became an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon, he graced the stage as a dancer with the Richmond Ballet in Virginia. The physical toll performances took on his body would go on to highly influence his medical practice.

Lucas never had childhood dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. Instead, a meniscus tear of his right knee, which required two surgeries, would send him to rehab and eventually to a short career with the Richmond Ballet.

“I got into ballet late in life,” Lucas said. “For me, it was a segue from my outdoor athletic experience with snowboarding and climbing into just a different world.”

While rehabbing his right knee as a young adult, Lucas found he had a talent for ballet. He received a scholarship for dance, and spent two years with the Richmond Ballet, performing contemporary pieces, such as Carl Orff's 1936 “Carmina Burana,” and classic ballets such as “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty.”

“I really had to learn some humility that I wasn't the best in the room,” Lucas said. “I had to work harder than everyone else to get to the same point they were. It was tremendously challenging, but I enjoyed it.”

But because he didn't have early training in the art form, Lucas had to force his body to endure the repetition of endless practices and performances. He realized his career was going to be short, and when the opportunity to go back to school presented itself, he took it.

Passion for surgery

Lucas, now with Mercy Orthopedic Associates, entered medical school not knowing what field of care he wanted to pursue, but soon “fell in love” with orthopedic surgery, specifically on the foot and ankle.

“I really liked the clear-cut nature of pathology,” he said. “It's very black and white.”

Lucas spent four years in medical school, and another five performing surgeries in-residency. Like most surgeons, he decided to pursue an additional yearlong fellowship for a sub-specialty. Unlike most surgeons, he chose foot and ankle.

“It's not one of the sexier of specialties, if you will,” he said. “Most people go for joints and sports, the high-profile things. Ankle and feet is not as exciting for a young resident.”

But for Lucas, his years as a ballet dancer taught him how important those parts of the body are and how painful medical issues can be.

“It was something I didn't know anything about until I was in ballet, where, landing hard on your feet, foot injuries are very prevalent,” he said.

Ballet's toll on the feet

Frances Rosser Paylor, director at Ballet Durango and a former professional dancer, said through proper training a lot of the pain associated with ballet can be avoided. But even so, Paylor has seen firsthand the stress the dance form takes on the body.

“The whole goal is to make it look easy, like you're floating on air, but you're not,” Paylor said. “It's really, really hard.”

Paylor said she sends students who may be experiencing pain to Integrated Physical Therapy's Randy Junttonen, a former physical therapist for the Chicago Ballet (who could not be reached for comment) and, now that he's in town, Lucas.

“He knows how hard ballet is on those parts of the leg,” Paylor said. “Durango is really in need of someone with this specialty, particularly because there's a lot of dance in Durango, but also all these other sports people do that are hard on the feet and ankles. Like the snowboarding!”

Specializing in replacements

Lucas spent two years at Montana State University and another four at the University of Utah as an undergraduate. He received his medical degree from the research campus of Virginia Tech before entering the fellowship, performing about 500 surgeries in a year.

Now, Lucas, 37, is approaching his sixth month at Mercy Regional Medical Center, and he has “pretty much seen it all.”

Common ailments include ankle instability from sprains, bunions, hammertoes, arthritis and fractures.

But one of the unique skills Lucas brings to the area is the ability to perform full-ankle replacement surgery. It's a relatively new surgery that Lucas said is growing in popularity.

Mental benefits of ballet

These days, Lucas doesn't look back with a yearning to return to his ballet days, but he does readily admit the importance the stint with the Richmond Ballet had on his future career.

“I don't think I would have gotten through medical school without the training I had in ballet,” he said. “I think the daily grind, having to do the same thing over and over again, allowed me to focus my mind.”

With his wife, Ashley, a local nutritionist, and two boys, Lucas said he's just happy to enjoy Durango, and “the mountains, the opportunity and the people” that come with it.

And, a little dancing on the side.

“My wife and I picked up swing dancing,” he said.

jromeo@durangoherald.com