Dr. Burton attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas and received his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine in Dallas. He completed his orthopedic residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center, in Kansas City and his spine fellowships at Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

In 2000, he returned to the University of Kansas Medical Center and joined the Orthopedic Surgery department where he specializes in pediatric and adult spine disorders. Currently, he is the Marc & Elinor Asher Spine Professor, the Vice-Chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and Co-Medical Director of the University of Kansas Hospital Operating Rooms.