Dr. James "Buddy" Leithead III

Dr. James "Buddy" Leithead III Dr. James (Buddy) Leithead III, specializes in the minimally invasive treatment of obesity, colorect

Dr. James (Buddy) Leithead III, specializes in the minimally invasive treatment of obesity, colorectal abnormalities, and general surgery diseases including hernias, gallbladder pathology, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. He also has a strong interest in robotic surgery in order to provide the latest advanced surgical technology to his patients. He is board certified in general surgery by the American Board of Surgery and has completed a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery, during which time he focused on Advanced Laparoscopy, Bariatric, Colorectal, and Robotic Surgery. After finishing his surgical training under many pioneers of surgery, he returned to New Orleans and joined the Surgical Specialists of Louisiana (www.WhyWeight.com). Dr. Leithead is devoted to patient well-being, satisfaction, and exceptional patient outcomes. He is committed to providing personalized and compassionate care to his patients for all of their surgical needs. Dr. Leithead provides surgical care at multiple locations including Crescent City Surgery Centre, Southern Surgical Hospital/Our Lady of the Lake Surgical Hospital, AVALA, Lakeview Regional Medical Center, UMC New Orleans

Clinical Interests: Advanced laparoscopic and robotic: gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, revisional weight loss surgery, hiatal hernia repair, gastric fundoplication, colectomy, hemorrhoids, ventral hernia repair, inguinal hernia repair, incisional hernia repair, cholecystectomy (gallbladder), soft tissue masses/lumps, endoscopy, colonoscopy

02/19/2026

Happy Mardi Gras week everyone! đŸ˜œ enjoying the ski suit tradition…

Honored to be in the spotlight!I love being able to help ppl get healthier. Let me know if anyone needs anything!
01/08/2026

Honored to be in the spotlight!
I love being able to help ppl get healthier. Let me know if anyone needs anything!

HEALTHFUL NOTES Newsletter from Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group highlighted our own Dr. Leithead in their PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT for the month of December!

What do you enjoy most about your work in St. Tammany Parish?
I like working in St. Tammany Parish because it is a smaller community, which reminds me of my hometown. I grew up in Lake Charles, which is also smaller, compared to New Orleans. I like being able to impact the community in a positive way by helping patients get healthier.

What is something unique about the scope of your practice?
In my practice, I am able to care for patients for their entire lives. This may start with helping them lose weight and get healthier, but it can also include the treatment of gallbladder disease, hernias, acid reflux/heartburn, colorectal disease and many other types of general surgery. Also, the treatment of obesity is a lifelong experience, so that people may remain healthy.

What led you to a career in surgery?
I have always loved anatomy, which is what led me to become a surgeon. Following general surgery, I furthered my training by focusing in minimally invasive surgery and bariatrics. I enjoy the ability to help people feel healthier and become more confident and keep this long term. Many improve their overall quality of life and have lifelong success. I am so lucky to be able to do this for a living.

What in-clinic procedures do you perform most often?
Most of my operations, if not all, are performed at private hospitals. These range from small operations to complex and revisional cases. I enjoy private facilities because I believe these facilities and staff are well trained in the advanced type of surgery that I perform. From the preop team to the operating and hospital floor team, everyone is in sync and well versed of the plan for the patient. This is very important for the complex operations I perform, but I believe is a must for everyone. In the office I am able perform live X-rays to see a real-time image of a patient’s stomach. This allows me to further evaluate symptoms of gastric reflux or any difficulties they may be experiencing. Also, while the lap band procedure is now performed less frequently, I still help those patients in the office with adjustments of their bands.

Anything else you would like people to know about you?
I love being able to help patients with any surgical difficulty. Using small incisions to do this helps patients have less pain, recover quicker and be back up on their feet almost instantly. It is truly amazing what is accomplishable with extremely small incisions. The technology continues to advance, and my field of obesity/minimally invasive surgery is growing rapidly.

DR. JAMES "BUDDY" LEITHEAD III
Advanced Laparoscopic General & Bariatric Surgeon

12/13/2025

Making this post made me smile. I love helping people get healthy. Keep livin and feeling great! Having fun and changing lives…
504–934-300
985–234-3000

Address

3100 Galleria Drive Suite 301
Metairie, LA
70001

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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