03/30/2026
The Louisiana Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders mourns the passing of Dr. J. Ollie Edmunds Jr., who died March 13 at age 85. Dr. Edmunds was an internationally recognized orthopaedic surgeon, author, educator and pioneer of surgical procedures. But to the center’s patients and staff, what mattered most was how deeply he cared.
As a member of the comprehensive care team at the Louisiana Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders, Dr. Edmunds specialized in joint replacement and other orthopaedic procedures for patients with hemophilia. He served the center’s patients for decades, including during one of the most difficult chapters in the community’s history, when patients with hemophilia faced serious health risks from contaminated blood products.
“Dr. Edmunds was more than a surgeon. He genuinely cared about every patient he treated,” said Dr. Cindy Leissinger, director emeritus of the Louisiana Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders. “He had a kindness and compassion that our patients never forgot. Many of them continue to ask about him, knowing that heretired a few years ago due to his own health challenges.”
Dr. Edmunds joined the Tulane faculty in 1976 and served as chief of hand and upper extremity surgery at Tulane University Medical Center, Charity Hospital of New Orleans and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of New Orleans. He was especially known for surgical procedures of the thumb basal joint and for the treatment of hemophilic joint disease. After Hurricane Katrina, he continued his work at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Nashville and served as a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University Medical School.
“Our center is grateful for Dr. Edmunds’ unwavering commitment to our patients over so many years,” Dr. Leissinger said. “His legacy lives on in the lives he changed and the standard of care he helped establish for people with bleeding disorders.”
The LCBCD honors Dr. Edmunds for his lasting contributions to the care of patients with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.