Biography - Ira L. Leeds, MD

Ira Leeds, MD, is a colorectal surgeon who says he listens to, counsels, and treats every patient he meets with the same expectations he would have for someone caring for a member of his own family. 

He treats conditions of the small bowel, the colon, rectum, and anus, including colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis), anorectal disease, hemorrhoids, and fissures.

Dr. Leeds’s clinical and research interests include figuring out how to help patients make difficult decisions when there is no easy “textbook” answer. 

“I particularly enjoy helping patients work through difficult re-operative decision-making and determining the best surgical approach whether that be endoscopic, open, laparoscopic, or robotic surgery,” he says. “My research directly informs my practice where we identify risk factors associated with surgical outcomes and attempt to optimize those risks preoperatively to improve postoperative recovery.” 

Dr. Leeds says he also appreciates the breadth of colorectal surgery. “It’s big, hefty cases that can be high risk, but high reward for appropriately selected patients,” he says. “But it’s also small, everyday cases that may take a small amount of time for a surgeon but dramatically improve a patient’s quality of life, and not just abstract clinical goals.”   

With many of his patients, particularly those with inflammatory bowel disease and rectal cancer, Dr. Leeds says he relies on shared decision-making with his patients. 

“Pelvic anatomy is one of the few areas of the body where both surgical approaches and function require a true three-dimensional awareness and understanding,” he says. “And there are heavyweight unanswered questions that remain, including best timing of surgery for inflammatory bowel disease, risks of rectal cancer surgery versus increasingly promising nonsurgical options, and preventative screening needs in anal cancer.”

The best part of his job, Dr. Leeds says, is meeting new people and working with an amazing team. “When my clinical day isn’t busy, an inspiring mountain of research-related work remains to continue to push our knowledge sphere of how to best care for both common and rare colorectal disease,” he says. 

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