Excellent work. Personable and thorough. I would recommend him. The entire team at Huntington orthopaedics are outstanding. Thank you dr Burnham from Leslie m read more

He's rude, full of himself and makes fun of you. He probably violated the HEPPA laws because he had at least 4-5 consultation rooms with doors and was wheeling his office chair between all of them. The office was chaotic. I felt bad for the people that had to use any of the surgeons, especially Dr. Burnham. He really needs to upgrade his consultation methods. You end out walking confused because he never addressed all your questions. His assistant was a total b*tch. She was confusing two medications and lumped together as to when I should stop taking them before surgery. read more

I was seeing Dr. Burnham for workers compensation case. I saw him every six weeks for almost 4 years in that time I had two surgeries and 1 epidural . I was told the first surgery was going to fix my neck. ( I had two previous surgeries from a different doctor) and everything would be better after he did that surgery during Covid as an outpatient.( biggest mistake of my life so I thought) I went home the same day and literally thought I was going to die because it was done on a Friday. I couldn't get a hold of him all weekend. The pain was intense. I went for my follow up visit five days later and was told he has me scheduled for another surgery on Friday. One week later I asked what the hell is this for and he said oh I told you you needed two surgeries I explained to him that he never said that then he tried to say oh I must've told your wife he never did that either. He basically doubled his money. I waited two years to have the second surgery and I thought the first surgery was bad. I went to the hospital had the surgery done and I'm no better for it. I told him and the hospital do not give me morphine to control pain. I don't have a reaction to it and what did they prescribe me in the hospital oxy ( morphine). I lasted four days and I went home called my primary care Doctor Who prescribed me some medication that I could take. Dr. Burnham does not want to give out pain medication in fact he only prescribed me a muscle relaxer and it doesn't matter what kind of pain you're in. He always thinks it's just funny and that gets old. Throughout the next year, I also saw him for my back issues along with my neck he requested an epidural for my back. The insurance company requested more information from Dr. Burnham not once not twice but four times in a year he never responded to them not a simple phone call therefore it kept getting denied they couldn't be bothered to do that. Again I go to my own insurance, not workers comp and it was approved in three days. Dr. Burnham I'm not gonna say as a bad surgeon, but he leaves a lot to be desired too. I don't recommend him for two reasons. He lies and he doesn't follow up at least in my case anyway. He tried to blame his assistant, and like I tried to explain to him it's not his assistance fault it's his fault for not following up. I even went into his office and told him he needs to follow up and he failed to do it. Needless to say, I no longer go to him and I'm glad. He's not funny but he thinks he is he does not follow up with patients. He just expects you to show up pay your six dollars to park while he charges the insurance company hundreds of dollars for a five minute visit. read more

here are three ways I'm going to describe my mother's care post surgery with Dr. Burnham : Careless planning, Zero contact post surgery, unreachable staff. My mother 6 hour surgery to correct a a prior horrible back surgery she had a few years back from another doctor. My mother really really trust Dr. Burnham, I am not criticizing his surgical work, but I am criticizing the aftercare and contact afterwards. Afterwards. My mother was in the hospital for about 5 days after the procedure and she was not visited by Dr. Burnham once. Apparently he was on vacation. I tried booking a follow-up but they do not have any appointments available till 3 weeks from now. My mom still has a is that Jack Pract, and I was given very little direction on how to care for it. My mother's also having swelling and other possible complications. I'm trying to reach someone and no one will respond. I've I've emailed The doctor's assistant Reem and I have not received any response. How could a patient have such an extensive surgery and not receive adequate aftercare? Granted I am still waiting on insurance approvals for PTOT and home Care. However, I would expect for the doctor to follow up much sooner and provide better follow-up instructions. read more

Dr Walter Burnham is a very good Doctor with a big heart , very honest and straightforward pointed me to the right direction- I went to City of Hope . I was given an Unwanted Unnecessary Spine surgery at PIH Whittier hospital which delayed my cancer treatment, today I am still alive and I want to say : Big Thanks to Walter - his advice Saved my life !!! your name will be remembered for the rest of my life ! Lechuga Castillo Oct 7th 2024 read more

I set an appointment a while ago with Dr. Burnham. On my appointment day (7/29) I arrived before my scheduled time which was at 2; checked in and waited for a while until they checked my insurance and the front desk staff apologized saying their were short staffed. After a while check was done and they asked me to go to the next waiting room for Dr. Burnham; I did: waited some more. Eventually around 2:30 someone called me and did quick x-rays and asked me to wait in the seating area in the hallway for someone to call me (btw people who came a bit after me were called in first). At 3 I was still sitting waiting to be called ; AN HOUR PASSED MY APPOINTMENT!!!! They even called the patient who came and sat next to me a while after I did and I was still waiting. I did NOT see Dr. Burnham and decided to cancel my appointment; the check out lady that I told to cancel my appointment didn't even bother to apologize or ask why even though she asked if I was seen and I told her no and she could see it is an hour passed my appointment. Not sure how making patients wait for that long is a good practice and I do not understand Drs' double, triple or even quadruple booking the same time slot would work which obviously that is the case here. If you have an entire day to waste and a lot of patience you can go there. read more

This is one of the worst doctor's office with level of rude and disrespectful staffs from receptionists to nurses are amazing. Nothing negative about Dr. Burnham Walter or other doctors. There are phone number and email displayed for Management Information, Joe Oganesyan at 626-644-9186. I emailed and called regarding their services but no answer no response. I am only here because of work's comp or else I would ran long time ago. There are always delay an hour or more and receptionist response is " do you want to reschedule ?" I am already here taking my time from work here and now you are asked to reschedule!!!! When I am in pain tried to reach nurse for consultation no way to reach her only voice mails, yet her return voicemail is " go to emergency ". WTH!!! On 8/29/24 when I asked about the wait and time response from receptionist Josh at front " do you wanna reschedule? I can't rush the doctor!!!!! After waiting for .47 minutes. But people are still seeing before me even though they came after me!!!! Apparently, they have new system and everything need to redo because it's new system didn't transfer all patients information and patients have to wait longer!!!! Someone had MRI and seeing doctor before me how is that possible. Because they came after me and had appointment later than me. It's 9:03 AM nurse appeared and new system they couldn't locate my information and appointment !!!! WTH why is their system affecting the my appointment not everyone else. Also, I can hear them talking amongst themselves yeah she is still here!!! Reem nurse called me instead saying hello or anything else " you can complain to doctor whatever" I asked her " what did you say ? She repeated herself " you can complain to doctor " with an attitude. I understand new system and trying to understand it , however level of rudeness of employees are outrageous!!! No apologies no consideration at all. Hope they are not treating all other patients this way!!! Just run and go somewhere else where you can treated properly!!! read more

Surgeons as a category can be a mixed blessing. Their primary goal is to "fix" you via surgery and then move on to the next patient. They are not family practice, they don't walk you through your medical life. Dr. Burnham is very different: yes, he's a "fixer" and assesses each patient according to what benefit he can offer through surgical procedures...that's his "job". But unlike other surgeons I've dealt with he believes in the most minimalist approach that will garner the maximum result. My hospital of choice is USC Keck where I had a very good result from hip replacement surgery. Dr. Burnham's name came up through a few friends who had had back and neck surgeries through him with excellent results. I met with Dr. Burnham and was extremely impressed with the length of time he spent with each patient in adjoining exam rooms explaining in great detail, and with compassion, the nature of their injuries and what choices were available to them. This was also my experience as he explained doing a much less invasive procedure to fuse the. L4-L5 in my lumbar and that my recovery would be faster and less painful (including only having to spend an overnight in the hospital) I was impressed. Of course I did get a second opinion from USC Keck but they wanted to do the more traditional, more invasive back surgery (4-5 days in hospital) so I opted for Dr. Burnham's method. And boy am I glad I did! 4 months later I was still experiencing pain radiating down into my left thigh and after another MRI and more digging it was determined that the disc above also needed to be treated. I knew from my consultation with Dr. Burnham that more surgery would be down the road...just not this soon. I complained that the first surgery going through my back muscles was pretty rough (he also combined It with a less invasive procedure by going in through my side to minimize the extend of the back incisions) and he felt he could remove the disc partially and insert a titanium mesh wedge to stabilize to vertebrae by just going through my side this time. During the procedure he discovered a root nerve at a lower level coming out of one of my vertebrae was being impinged and he fixed that as well...all by just going through my side in the least invasive procedure possible. My recovery was fast and amazing. My back hasn't been this good in 35 years! Few months ago I started experiencing numbing and tingling going down my right arm. Saw Dr. Burnham and had an MRI of neck: at least three cervical vertebrae (C3-C4-C-5-C6) were severely compromised and surgery was recommended. This time I didn't opt for a second opinion: Dr. Burnham was my surgeon and he was going to fix me...and he did...wonderfully. I've read the other negative reviews about Dr. Burnham and feel bad for their experience. What I can tell you from mine is that Dr. Burnham is a very committed, thorough and excellent surgeon who has always shown concern for the best outcome he could provide me and LISTENED and incorporated my concerns into his judgements and recommendations. Dr. Burnham is a different kind of animal: he's brilliant, definitely on the "spectrum" (sometimes I think he's carrying on 3 different conversations at the same time) and a little quirky. Perhaps some might misconstrue these affectations as unsettling but I've always found him to be charming and extremely engaging. He's not "curt" but as with most surgeons I've experienced they tend to form an opinion early on as to what they can do with their expertise to fix you...and that's why second opinions are never a bad thing. But my 3 surgeries with Dr. Burnham in just 13 months have been a Godsend and I tell him emphatically every time that he has changed my quality of life for the better. Kind, considerate, funny and thoughtful. BTW, my father had back surgery at the age of 82 (many years ago) that ended up killing him: he never left the hospital and died 3 weeks later from complications (internal bleeding) as the result of his operation. So I do have a particular sensitivity and natural aversion to back surgery. read more

I awoke after my back surgery feeling pain free. The next morning I left the hospital, and it's been 2.5 years without any problems. This Doctor is terrific. read more

As an update, I have since moved and found a new doctor at UCSF. My doctor performed another MRI and some other tests. Apparently, I never had wedge compression fracture to begin with, so....I don't know whose charts this guy was looking at, but I am going to double down on my review and recommend you find someone else. Also, as with the other concerns in his reviews, he spent more time talking about diet than he did looking at my MRI and making sure he was talking to the right patient. I am 140 lbs, 5'8". I have no other health conditions and I am in great physical condition. I have no idea why he rattled on to me about diet an exercise but I can only imagine the body shaming this guy doles out on a daily basis to his patients. read more

I'm writing one year post op for ALIF surgery with Dr Burnham. I have been restored. After more than 30 years with intermittent debilitating back aches I am now able to walk many miles a week without pain. I can stand and sit without the nagging desire to just lie down. Dr Burnham is a stand up guy who spent as much time as needed each time I visited his office to explain my aches and pains and to educate me as to what was wrong and what my options were. You may wait a bit in the waiting room on occasion but once you see him he devotes all of his attention. Many Thanks to a fantastic back Doctor. Highly recommended. read more

I was having some back problems and went to see Dr. Burnham. He was able to help me negotiate with my insurance to get the two MRIs (neck and lower back) that I needed. When the MRI results came in, he looked at them and told me that I needed back surgery "sooner rather than later". He said that my MRIs showed very severe pinching of my nerves that could lead to loss of control of my bodily functions. Yikes! This started me on a year-long search to interview other surgeons to see who was the best and also to explore other, non-surgical options. Eventually, I found two highly-regarded spine neuro-surgeons who told me that I did NOT need surgery. Both of these other surgeons told me that even though my MRIs looked bad, I seemed to be functioning quite well. They did very simple strength tests with me during my office visits; I do not recall Dr. Burnham doing these tests with me. If I had followed Dr. Burnham's advice, I would have had one or two spine surgeries. Luckily, I was able to find two other extremely competent surgeons and have not had to have any surgeries! The two surgeons that I saw who informed me that surgery was not necessary for me are Dr. Langston Holly at UCLA Santa Monica and Dr. Tiffany Perry at Cedars Sinai. Also, I was lucky enough to have two friends who encouraged me to explore other, non-surgical options. I've been seeing a wonderful chiropractor who practices a kind of chiropractic that I highly recommend which is called Gonstead Chiropractic. His name is Jeffrey Jacobs in West L.A., but he will soon move to Austin, Texas, and has recommended that I see his colleague, Brad Ping in Pasadena after he moves. I am also doing physical therapy with Evergreen PT in Pasadena and I feel that is very helpful also. read more

I've been seeing Dr Walter Burnham for a few months now, and we have started a treatment plan that includes 3 surgeries. I have 3 areas in my spine that are very seriously damaged, from car accidents, to being thrown from a horse, etc. I am very impressed with the office, my approvals always go thru in a timely matter, and when he says he wants to get something done quick, it's scheduled and completed in days. The girls that work there are all very friendly and helpful. I have a lot of anxiety about the procedures I am facing and he makes sure to explain everything to me and how it will help. He was top student of his class at Loma Linda, and has many other accolades as well. I feel very lucky have him as my surgeon, and Huntington Memorial Hospital is a beautiful state of the art facility, that makes you feel like a V.I.P. the moment you walk into the door. I really hope he stays in my provider network. read more

On a 5-star rating, I'm attributing a 5 to each adjective that describes Dr. Walter H. Burnham who is on staff at Pasadena's prestigious Huntington Orthopedic Institute. Clearly, he is a witty, attentive, smart, and a dedicated doctor who gives positive regard to all patients, which fortunately includes me. Upon return visits, I always enter with trepidation. However, this ceases when I'm heartily greeted by Dr. Burnham. A meaningful and informative dialogue immediately ensues. Smoothly, he eases in by seeking questions regarding my pending health needs. After deep cogitation, Dr. Burnham succinctly discusses the diagnosis of my concerns. He then recommends options for forthcoming treatment if absolutely necessary. Indeed, I find these comprehensive consultations most satisfying. Upon exiting, I feel renewed. My 5's do reveal Dr. Burnham's impressive professional medical aplomb! Also, his record reflects the extensive medical care that his esteemed colleagues also render at the Institute. read more

Terrible workman's comp surgeon. Could care less about the patient. Also, my surgery did not help me at all. If I had to do it all over again, I definitely would NOT use his services. read more

Dr. Burnham has been exceptional with me! After searching for help for over 13 years, I finally found someone who gets my condition. He has been a pleasure to see. I like his funny attitude, I get a bit of a blunt personality and he makes me laugh when I'm feeling down. He is very thorough and puts a lot of thought into what needs to be done. read more

Very disappointing. First of all he is always late. In my case I waited three hours to see him. He came in the room and started talking to me about diet, and any subject but my back. I told him what I do for a living and he immediately started arguing with me about the technology and telling me that he knew more than I did which was impossible. Then he got mad at me that I did not take notes whenever he spoke. He did not believe that I could remember what he said, so he kept on repeating the info over and over. After 15 minutes, he told me he was done and walked out. Nothing was resolved. What a waste! read more

This review is MAINLY for Dr. Burnham's personal nurse, JULIE. Dr. Burnham has THE worse nurse I have ever met. She has such bad manners, she is disrespectful to the patients, she is rude and does NOT want to help you. How on earth do the employees put up with this woman??? When I went to the clinic I was called in by Jujie. I could barely move because I was in such bad pain from my back. I walked in, then Julie said to wait there. I was standing there, then Julie comes back and she just walks by, then a couple of feet away she turns her head around and she tells me "well come on!". Well, I DON'T read people's minds and how was I supposed to know that I was supposed to start walking behind Julie and follow her. I don't know where the heck she is going or doing. So disrespectful. Julie does not like people to ask her questions. You will start to see how she LOOKS at you and she will start to get annoyed. That is so not cool. Julie CLEARLY does not like working for Dr. Burnham. She walks LIKE SHE JUST DOESN'T WANT TO BE THERE. After, she will pass those same feelings to the patient and the patient won't want to be there either. I just decided not to put up with this type of customer service and I will not go back to this place ever again, specially when I am paying THOUSANDS of dollars, whether it is payed to them or the insurance. That's right, "I AM PAYING THIS PEOPLE", they are not paying me. I work extremely hard for my money and I do not tolerate this kind of treatment towards a client or patient. I have gone to a different specialist and you will not believe how it has been like day and night. The service, the detailed information and advice they have given me, and mostly, the PERSONAL attention I have received at the other place. The new doctor AND his nurse spent TWO entire hours talking to me about different things I need to know, specially about spine fusion. I have learned very very interesting and important things that Dr. Burnham simply did not spill out. Big big difference. What do I have to say regarding Dr. Burnham? Well, not much. He seems like a nice guy, but after going to another specialist on the spine, let me just say that I spent TWO whole hours talking to that other specialist, actually, HE was talking to me about all the PROS and CONS regarding getting spine fusion surgery, and I was CLEARLY told that spine fusion should be THE LAST thing to consider. Dr. Burnham simply was more direct and leaned more towards spine fusion. I didn't know absolutely ANYTHING about spine fusion. I knew NADA, ZIPPO, ZERO, and when Dr. Burnham spoke with me, for a total of approximately 10 to 15 minutes he made it sound so easy and he said that after spine fusion I was "most likely" going to go back to work the next day, "with light duty". BULL PUCKY!!! To go back to work the next day after spine FUSION??? That is ridiculous and a very very low change that will happen. Within the last few days I have learned that there is a GREAT chance that I can come out even worse with spine fusion. I have spoken with other people (not Dr. Burnham's patients) that had spine fusion and they were also told pretty things and their doctors also made it sound like they were going to come out like the bionic man, but they actually came out WORSE after spine fusion surgery. Let me tell you people, SPINE FUSION IS NOT A JOKE! Unfortunately, a lot of doctors simply only see a BIG O $$$ sign on your forhead. Is sad but this is how it is. To make it short, I have had a really bad experience here, specially with Dr. Burnham's nurse. You know how "the force" tells a Jedi that there is something wrong? Well, I just have a BAD feeling about this place, so I personally do not recommend it. read more

He is a very good surgeon but once he's done with that particular surgery if you have any more issues might as well go to somewhere else because he loses interest in that. And as for his nurse Julie do not tell her anything what's going on in your life because she'll just to file your problem by saying it's in your head when I think it's probably on her head because she doesn't know how to even be able to help those that need to talk but otherwise this is a pretty good place to go to have your back worked on read more

I worked with Dr. Burnham when he worked for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California (Oakland). He is a great orthopedic spine surgeon, truly one of the best that I have encountered. He is knowledgeable, has superb surgical skills, teaches other doctors, and is just a great personable guy who communicates well with his patients and staff. ALL of the patients loved him. We miss him here in San Bruno! read more

Was reffered here by my GP because I have extremely disabling spinal pain. I saw Dr. Burnham and aside from being a little nervous about any kind of surgeon since I had a disease that means I don't heal as quickly or as well as the average person (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) - I figured at best I'd get an informative consult and review of my MRI and maybe get a spinal brace first. None of that was mention. I now know a spinal brace would've been ideal to keep my spine from becoming more unstable until I can see someone more familiar with EDS and it's comorbidities, but at the time I didn't know. Dr. Burnham spent about 10 minutes with me and basically yelled at me that exercise and an entirely vegetarian diet would cure me. That's when I knew he was a quack who doesn't like anyone he can't operate on: EDS is a genetic disease affecting the collagen and because of chronic pain and fatigue (what I'm seeing him for! spinal pain!) exercise isn't happening, and with anemia there's no way in hell I'm becoming 100% vegetarian. How can you look at someone's records that say these things and advise them to do exactly the opposite of what all research says?! All I wanted was a consult on what's going on with my spine and maybe some help with a brace or similar in the meantime. I used to be athletic and can barely walk anymore, so to look at me and say nothing's wrong, just exercise is pretty ridiculous. Also heard him in the next room over (he doesn't close doors) tell a woman with type 1 diabetes the same thing: that diet and exercise would get her off insulin. She sounded equally as appalled that he doesn't know the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes and just gave out that advice with no reason or context. ------ WHAT HE DID DO: * he did take flexion and extension xrays when no one else would, which are needed and related for what I came in there for. However....it's been 6 months of phone tag to get his assistant or anyone there to mail them. * he reviewed a full spinal MRI I had while in ICU earlier in the year. At the time they definitely weren't looking for anything that wasn't immediately obvious or not glaring, but thankfully Dr. Burnham is the type who likes to show off (not usually something you'd say thankfully for). He looked over my spinal MRI and pointed out the beginnings of degerative disc disease in my neck (which with the instability basically explains why I was in there), and lo and behold...I have an osteophyte right where most of my back pain is. Of course these aren't at all fixed by diet and exercise and I'll have to see someone less awful, but at least it's some explanation for the constant pain in two specific spots. read more

This guy loves surgery. Ca-ching. My other doc was shocked and appalled that he does not clearly list the pros and the cons with surgery. He is definitely pro-surgery and has garnered a reputation for it. So, know this going in. This seems irresponsible to me. read more

My experience with Huntington Orthopaedic medial group and specially with Dr. Walter Burnham has been exemplary. Dr. Walter Burnham did not just instill confidence he assured it. He took the time to explain the procedures and to answer questions. recently I had an anterior cervical fusion performed by Dr. Burnham that gave me my life back and the results of the surgery were amazing. I highly recommend Dr. Walter Burnham for any spine procedures. From surgeon to staff to their relationship with the highly skilled nurses that monitor their patients, Huntington Orthopaedic and in particular, Dr. Walter Burnham is the only surgeon I would go to, send my family to and I recommend that if you are fearful of the worst then see Huntington Orthopaedic and experience the best. You must live with the results so be sure to have the best team behind you - Huntington Orthopedic and specially Dr. Walter Burnham. read more