Physicians

Michael Leighton, MD

Michael Leighton, M.D., FAAOS, has been in practice in Palm Beach County since 1994. He is a Board Certified Fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon.  He was ABOS re-certified in 2005.

He grew up in New York and went to college at Duke University where he played baseball and majored in philosophy. He went directly to medical school at Rutgers University (now called University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School) and continued on to a residency in orthopedic surgery at UMDNJ-RWJUH. Residency training included rotations at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City. Dr. Leighton further pursued advanced training with a one year Sports Medicine Fellowship at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago.

This intense experience in knee and shoulder surgery helped give Dr. Leighton added insight, knowledge and expertise in these areas. These skills allow Dr. Leighton to focus on an athletic population (whether young or older) and he specializes in arthroscopic surgery of the knee and shoulder as well as knee, hip and shoulder replacement.

Dr. Leighton is very sports oriented both in his own life and for his patient's. He enjoys golf, tennis, softball and hiking. His approach to non-operative rehabilitation and therapy after surgery is aimed at getting patients back to the sports that they love; specifically, total knee and hip patients are expected to be hitting golf balls between two and three months after surgery.

Dr. Leighton has authored a book chapter on rehabilitation of knee ligament injuries and has written many articles on golf, arthroscopy, joint replacement and other medical issues in Fore Florida, a regional golf magazine. Dr. Leighton also serves as the team physician for local high schools and is the Medical Director of Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is the team physician for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department Football Team and has treated local professional teams.

Dr. Leighton was named the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (PB Chapter) "Man of the Year 2000." He serves on numerous committees including the Palm Beach County Sports Commission Medical Council and is on Staff at Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter Medical Centers.

Dr. Leighton has worked with complex, emerging minimally invasive techniques for knee and hip replacement and is adamant about providing the "best," not necessarily the "latest" techniques and procedures for his patients.

More important than all of Dr. Leighton's qualifications and skills, is his ability listen to, communicate with, and connect with patients. His unique ability to establish rapport and explain orthopedic problems in simple terms help make him a compassionate doctor as well as an excellent surgeon.

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