John Boldog Smirniotopoulos, MD

Provider is directly employed by MedStar Health

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 associate professor Radiology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

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. These procedures are new to the Washington, DC area and are something Dr. Smirniotopoulos uniquely offers to patients.

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 has a clinical interest in 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.  

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 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.

Dr. Smirniotopoulos is a Washington, D.C. native. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, who is also a MedStar Georgetown University Hospital physician.

Philosophy of Care

"My philosophy of care is guided by my alma mater’s, Georgetown University School of Medicine, tradition of Cura Personalis, or care of the whole person. When I meet with my patients, I'm learning about their condition in every sense, not just in the biological sense. I like to sit down with my patients and get to know them on a personal level and truly understand how the disease is impacting their life and what their healthcare goals are. I address all their concerns and I am with them every step of their medical journey. We work as a team and create an individualized plan.”