Dr. John Smirniotopoulos

Dr. John Smirniotopoulos, MD, is a board-certified vascular and interventional radiologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He is also an assistant professor of radiology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

Dr. Smirniotopoulos received his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2014. He then pursued an internship at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, before heading to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine, where he worked as a resident physician in radiology until 2019 and served as Chief Resident. In 2020, Dr. Smirniotopoulos completed his vascular and interventional radiology fellowship at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. From 2020 to 2021, Dr. Smirniotopoulos worked as an attending interventional radiologist and was an assistant professor of radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City prior to returning to Washington, D.C. to join the MedStar Health family as faculty.

As an interventional radiologist, Dr. Smirniotopoulos uses image guidance to perform innovative minimally-invasive treatments for a wide range of conditions, including percutaneous gallstone removal, portal hypertension, local/regional treatment of cancers, fibroids, enlarged prostates, and varicose veins.

Dr. Smirniotopoulos performs basivertebral nerve ablation (Intracept), an FDA-approved, minimally-invasive, outpatient procedure for patients with chronic lower back pain caused by fractures of the vertebral bodies. He also performs minimally-invasive gallstone removal.

His treatment methods focus on the patient as a whole – not only treating their cause of pain. Dr. Smirniotopoulos helps patients truly understand their pain and dedicates himself to finding the best treatment plan for each patient to improve their overall health.

Dr. Smirniotopoulos’s clinical interests include interventional pain management and treating joint pain in the knees, hips, and shoulders via nerve ablation. His research interests include the use and effectiveness of minimally-invasive gallstone removal and nerve ablation for joint pain.

As a respected interventional radiologist, Dr. Smirniotopoulos earned the Alexander Margulis Leadership Award and the Chief Resident Award from the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center Department of Radiology. He is currently a member of the Society of Interventional Radiologists, Radiological Society of North America, Academic University of Radiologists, and American College of Physicians.