Submitted Photo Minot native Dr. Jennifer Gravos-Bauer, a podiatric physician and surgeon at Sidney Health Center, performed the facility’s first total ankle replacement surgery March 19. Photo from Sidney Health Center.

SIDNEY, Mont. – Dr. Jennifer Gravos-Bauer achieved a milestone for herself and Sidney Health Center this month when she performed the facility’s first total ankle replacement surgery.

It was the first total ankle replacement surgery led by Gravos-Bauer, who trained during her residency at Sanford Health in Fargo before joining Sidney Health Center in September 2022.

A podiatric physician and surgeon, Gravos-Bauer traces her path into medicine to the experiences and educational guidance and mentoring that occurred in her hometown of Minot.

As a young teen in 2005, she was riding one of the horses her family boarded north of Minot when she fell and broke her ankle.

“That’s kind of where it all started. After I got past the painful part, when we were sitting in the ER, I wanted to look at the X-rays,” she said. “So, that’s kind of where my interest in medicine started. And I have always loved the sciences. I knew I was going to do something in the medical field.”

Graduating from Minot High School in 2010, she enrolled at Minot State University to study radiologic technology. As she progressed through her studies, Dr. Bob Crackel, associate professor in the chemistry department, pulled her aside and asked why she was stopping there when she had potential to go further.

“It really kind of made me stop and reevaluate,” Gravos-Bauer said.

Uncertain about the area of medicine she wanted to pursue, she did a lot of job shadowing, she said. A job shadow with Dr. Tyson Williams, a podiatrist at Trinity Health, led to an ongoing mentorship and a love for foot and ankle health. It also took her back to the initial attraction to medicine that happened in an emergency room years before.

“I’ve been in a patient’s shoes – so to speak,” the foot doctor said. “I just felt like I could relate to patients.”

After earning a chemistry degree from MSU, with a minor in Spanish and concentration in the Honors Program, Gravos-Bauer attended Des Moines University College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, Iowa.

Gravos-Bauer said she developed her surgical skills at Sanford, where she performed about 30 total ankle replacements.

About five patients in her Sidney practice who have been potential candidates for ankle replacement surgeries opted for more conservative treatments, but one patient with end stage ankle arthritis chose the replacement surgery due to the level of pain and difficulty walking, Gravos-Bauer said.

The surgery involves replacing the damaged ankle joint with an artificial implant designed to mimic natural movements, according to information from Sidney Health Center. Although ankle replacement surgery is not new, recent advances in surgical techniques and implant technology have significantly improved the success and longevity of ankle replacements, the health center stated in a news release about the ground-breaking surgery at its facility.

Gravos-Bauer performed the surgery March 19 after spending the previous evening walking through the procedure with surgical staff who would be assisting in an ankle replacement for the first time.

Following surgery, patients typically undergo a rehabilitation program, with return to daily activities over several months. Gravos-Bauer said it takes four weeks for the ankle to heal to the point at which the patient can resume walking.

Gravos-Bauer lives in Sidney with her husband and their two golden retrievers. She grew up camping with her parents and siblings at the New Town Marina, and camping and fishing remain among her favorite activities.

Her parents, Lynn and Marilyn Gravos, former owners of Clean Tech in Minot, now live in Williston, where Gravos-Bauer was born. Gravos-Bauer moved to Minot as an infant.

She said she still stays in touch with her roots, returning to Minot regularly to shop, play bingo at a local lounge and relive memories.