Richard Swenson, M.D.

Dr. Richard Swenson is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in complex joint replacement, revision joint reconstruction, and fractures of the hip and knee. He was originally drawn to adult reconstruction because of his love of working with his hands to solve technical challenges. However, he quickly discovered his favorite part of orthopedics is the fulfillment that comes from helping others eliminate pain and solve complex problems, such as infection, metal reaction, or implant failure.

He attended Brigham Young University on a four-year, full-tuition scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in biophysics. While there, he was involved in several research projects and received a student poster award as an undergraduate student competing against graduate students by the president of the physical chemistry division of the American Chemical Society at the national meeting in Chicago. This award led to a postbaccalaureate position, where he contributed to several peer-reviewed papers in a biophysics journal, including an article featured on the cover of the issue.

Dr Swenson graduated from Wake Forest School of Medicine. While in medical school, he was involved in several leadership activities as well as research. He worked to research the differences between the anterior and posterior surgical approaches to hip replacement and was part of the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine. Dr Swenson’s work in bone regeneration on artificial scaffolds was awarded a T1 transitional medicine award.

Following medical school, Dr Swenson completed an orthopedic surgery residency at The Pennsylvania State University. During that time, he found a link between anemia and treatment failure for infection. During his fourth year of residency, he was chosen by his peers and mentors to represent the program at the resident leadership forum for the American Orthopaedic Association.

Following his training in general orthopedic surgery, Dr Swenson decided to subspecialize in adult reconstruction. He completed his fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. While there, he improved his surgical skills to include anterior hip replacement, robotic-assisted hip and knee replacement, patient-specific knee replacement, and complex hip and knee revisions, including revising megaprostheses used to replace bones following resection of bony tumors.

When Dr. Swenson is not at work, he enjoys basketball, guitar, camping, church activities, and spending time with his wife and five children.