Michael Houghton, MD

Dr. Mike Houghton is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in taking care of patients’ foot and ankle injuries and conditions.
He has patient appointments in our Fort Collins and Loveland, CO, offices.
Dr. Houghton’s practice emphasizes the treatment of complicated foot and ankle injuries and conditions. He is a specialist in ankle replacement surgery, for instance, along with other surgeries to repair or reconstruct parts of the foot and ankle due to injury.
Dr. Houghton joined the Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies in 1997 after completing a fellowship (advanced training) in foot and ankle surgery at the University of Washington Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Fellowship training provides orthopaedic surgeons with an additional, sixth year of focused training and patient care in their specialty area, following their five-year residency.
Dr. Houghton completed his residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, Madison.
Dr. Houghton is currently participating in a national research study on ankle replacement surgery. This clinical trial is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and managed by the Veterans Administration medical system.
The research trial includes several other surgeons and hospitals/clinics, including Harborview and the University of Washington in Seattle, as well as Dr. Houghton and OCR. The study will compare patients’ results with ankle replacement and ankle fusion surgeries. For more information, read our brochure on the research project, or go to this page on the Veterans Administration web site.
Along with orthopaedic surgeon Wes Jackson, MD, and podiatry colleagues Nathan Hunt, DPM, and Emily Wasko, DPM, the four doctors treat all types of foot and ankle problems, ranging from sprains and athletic injuries, to complications from diabetes that affect the foot and ankle, as well as major ankle reconstruction and ankle replacement surgery.
Dr. Houghton holds board certification through the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.
He takes care of patients from OCR’s service area of northern Colorado, Wyoming, and western Nebraska. He performs foot and ankle surgeries at hospitals and surgery centers in Fort Collins and Loveland.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Houghton enjoys spending time with his family and joining them in 5k races — he’s also been known to knock out a marathon!