James Brennan Spies, MD

Provider is directly employed by MedStar Health

James Brennan Spies, MD, is professor and chair in the Department of Radiology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. After attending Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Spies completed a radiology residency at the University of California, San Francisco, and a fellowship at New York University School of Medicine in vascular and interventional radiology. He also has received a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Spies served four years in the United States Air Force. After military service, he was in private practice for several years before joining the faculty of Georgetown University in 1997. He has served as chair of the Department of Radiology since 2005.

He has an active practice in uterine embolization for fibroids. He also treats women with adenomyosis, post-partum hemorrhage, and pelvic venous disease and also varicocele in men.

He has performed extensive research in uterine embolization and is recognized as an international authority on the procedure. He has more than 160 published scientific studies, given over 400 invited presentations, and has edited a text on uterine embolization. He continues to actively research uterine embolization and the comparative outcomes for fibroid therapies.

Dr. Spies is a Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), and the American College of Radiology (ACR) and has also been named a Distinguished Fellow of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe and Honorary Fellow of the British Society of Interventional Radiology. He has served on numerous national committees for both SIR and ACR and is past president of the Society of Interventional Radiology, the largest interventional radiology professional organization in the U.S. In 2019 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the SIR, its highest award, recognizing his extensive contributions to the field and for his national leadership in the organization.

My Philosophy of Care
I believe in a collaborative approach to patient care, actively involving the patient and the patient's other physicians. I believe that a well-informed patient is best able to participate in that process. I strive to ensure that patients have all the information they need to choose the medical approach best suited to them and the opportunity to fully discuss their options.