Dr. Blake Clifton is an orthopedic surgeon fellowship trained (extra year of specialty training) in adult and pediatric sports medicine. This means that he specializes in minimally invasive and open procedures repairing and reconstructing ligaments, cartilage, and bones of all the major joints in the body. He regularly performs arthroscopic procedures of the knee, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and ankle. Complex knee injuries, including multiple ligament tears, are just one of the many things he has advanced training and experience with. Other than being one of the team physicians for Western State Colororado University, he also currently serves as a team physician for the US Ski Team.
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Not only is Dr. Clifton specially trained in adult sports medicine, but he is the only orthopaedic surgeon in the Western Slope of Colorado that is trained to treat sports injuries (ACL tears, meniscus injury, etc.) in children with open growth plates. Many children can be treated without surgery but if surgery is needed he performs minimally invasive repair and reconstruction of ligaments, broken bones, etc in a way that won't damage growth plates in children still growing.
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He also has advanced training and specialization in joint replacement of the shoulder, hip, and knee. This includes total joint replacement of the joint surface or minimally invasive partial replacement and resurfacing of the joint. Many joint replacements are done with a system custom made for each patient. Dr. Clifton uses MRI and CT scans along with computer guided technology to customize each patients' surgical plan and instruments before entering the operating room. This creates a unique precise fit of the joint replacement for each individual patient.
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Dr. Clifton earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science from Brigham Young University. While studying Exercise Science at BYU, he did research associated with USA Track and Field (USATF) team athletes. His work included analyzing techniques and providing Dart Fish training resources to discus, shot put, and steeple chase athletes across the country.
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Dr. Clifton attended medical school at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont where he worked world renown surgeon Dr. Robert Johnson studying ski injuries on the slopes of Sugarbush Mountain Resort. Orthopaedic surgery residency took him and his family to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. On occasion he worked with the Texas Tech Red Raider Football program and provided medical coverage on the sidelines. He had special training in pediatric Orthopaedics at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. He then went on to do an Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of New Mexico where he worked as one of the team physicians for the UNM Lobo athletes across all sports. Here he was trained in complex open and arthroscopic procedures of all major joints of the body in both adult and pediatric athletes. He has also had extensive training in joint replacement surgery of the shoulder, knee and hip.
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Dr. Clifton and his wife, Camille, have 5 children and enjoy the outdoors. They can be found in the surrounding mountains on any given weekend hiking, mountain biking, skiing or doing any number of other activities in the outdoors. If it is raining, there is a good chance you’ll find Dr. Clifton working in his wood shop where he enjoys building fine cabinetry and handmade rocking horses.
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