Dr. Burnham is a fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeon and knee doctor who has a special focus on knee injuries, ligament tears, and cartilage repair. His clinical and research focus has centered around ACL tears, meniscus tears, knee dislocation, and other knee ligament injuries. He trained under world-renowned knee doctors and surgeons at the UPMC in Pittsburgh, PA and UK in Lexington, KY. He currently practices in Baton Rouge, LA at the Bone & Joint Clinic and has privileges at several major hospitals in the area. Knee injuries treated by Dr. Burnham include:
- ACL tears
- PCL tears
- MCL tears
- Meniscus tears
- Cartilage injuries
- Patellofemoral instability
- Patellar dislocations
- Knee dislocations
- LCL tears
Many knee injuries can be treated arthroscopically (with small incisions and a scope), although some require open incisions. Typical symptoms of a knee injury include sudden or gradual pain, swelling inside and around the knee (knee effusion), a sensation or sound of a “pop” or tear, and pain with walking, twisting, bending, or putting any weight on it. Initial treatment should consist of rest, ice, elevation, and compression. Persistent pain or swelling, or any catching, locking, buckling, or instability should be further evaluated by a knee doctor.
Not all knee injuries need surgery. Many ligament strains can heal on their own with rest and physical therapy. Structures inside the knee have less healing potential. For example, very few ACL tears are able to heal on their own. Most of the time, the torn ACL is replaced with a graft during a procedure known as ACL reconstruction. Similarly, the meniscus has poor healing potential and relatively little blood supply. Some meniscus tears are trimmed out, but more and more are able to be repaired with every improving technology and techniques.