Leah Bueneman, MD - East Cooper Plastic Surgery

Since I was very young, I have enjoyed learning about health and nutrition, and I have always loved helping people. Medicine was a logical career choice, and it's a career that I would choose again today. It allows me to meet new people, listen to their problems, and help them be and feel the best versions of themselves. I've been working in the gastroenterology specialty since 2009. I have been fortunate to work with many different physicians and have learned so much from them all. I feel one of my best qualities as a healthcare provider is the ability to make patients feel comfortable when discussing their health. Often, it is difficult to talk about GI issues, but I work to ask the right questions so those conversations are as easy as possible for those in my care. My wonderful husband and our three children fill much of my time away from work. We have a menagerie of pets: two doodles, a rabbit, a cat and a fish tank full of guppies. As our children get older, we treasure time together when we can get it. We enjoy traveling as a family, whether we are camping locally or exploring farther from home. I am nearly always up for spending time outdoors; I enjoy long walks, hiking, paddle boarding, and sitting on my porch with a warm cup of coffee and my dogs.

I was born and raised in Florence, South Carolina. I started becoming interested in a career in medicine in middle school as I watched my mother struggle with an autoimmune disease that took several years to be accurately diagnosed. I was very interested in the life sciences, and I loved the idea of a career focused on helping others. \n As a physician, my goal is to treat every patient as I would want my own family to be treated - something that stems from my devout Christian faith. I work to develop trusting relationships with patients, to meet them where they are and to provide the best possible solutions to their digestive health needs. Patient buy-in to a treatment plan is critical. Without that, no plan will succeed. \n I graduated magna cum laude from Clemson University's Calhoun Honors College with a degree in chemistry and health sciences. I then attended the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston on an Army scholarship and graduated in 2004. I completed internal medicine residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2007, then I completed a gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, in 2011. \n I was honored to serve my country in the U.S. Army. I was on active duty for 11 years at which time I served in Iraq (2007-08) and Afghanistan (2013), where I received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service as a battalion surgeon while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As a member of the Army Reserves, I deployed again to Kuwait in 2018 before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2020. \n Before going into private practice in 2015, I was chief of the gastroenterology clinic at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, from 2011 to 2015. I'm board-certified in gastroenterology/hepatology and internal medicine. My clinical interests include colon cancer prevention, esophageal cancer screening, gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett's esophagus, inflammatory bowel disease, hepatitis C treatment, hemorrhoid treatment and nutrition. \n I married my medical school sweetheart, Theresa, and we have four beautiful children. In my free time, I enjoy running, cycling, reading, studying the Bible and, along with my wife, leading a marriage enrichment course at our church.

I currently provide patient care as a physician assistant (PA) in Bariatric Surgery with Dr. Neil McDevitt. To this role, I bring the experience of working in various surgical subspecialties, emergency medicine, PA education and anesthesiology. \n I have always wanted to work in healthcare, and finally found my niche when employed in Pediatric Cardiology to help pay for college. During that time, I met a Physician Assistant (PA) who provided amazing patient-centered care and after spending one day shadowing him, I was hooked on the role of PA. After completing my undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan I completed PA school and then refined my surgical patient care skills in the Norwalk Hospital/Yale University PA Surgical Residency. As the role of PAs has evolved, I returned to school to complete my Master in PA Studies as well as more recently completing my Doctorate of Medicine Science with a concentration in healthcare administration as I believe, the better we understand the system in which we provide care, the better we can care for our patients. I currently am a homeschool parent and love spending time traveling with my family searching for unique flea market treasures to upcycle.