Elizabeth O'Leary, MD, FACS

Breast and General Surgeon

Dr. Elizabeth O’Leary is an experienced breast surgeon who found her home at the Chevy Chase Breast Center.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a Minor in Spanish from the College of St. Benedict and her Doctor of Medicine with Honors from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.  She has been inducted into the Phi Rho Sigma Medical Society where she served as president and also into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.  She received her Master of Health Science degree in Disease Control and Prevention from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and was awarded the Vaccine Science and Policy Certificate.  In the Department of Oncology at Johns Hopkins, Dr. O’Leary continued her cancer research and was involved in many studies including an investigation of the human papilloma virus and its relationship to head and neck cancer and a trial of Herceptin in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.  Dr. O’Leary completed her surgical residency at the Medstar Washington Hospital Center, where she received an award for her research on Perioperative Normothermia as a Risk Factor for Surgical Site Infections in Patients Undergoing Mastectomy for Early Stage Breast Cancer and received first place in a competition for her research on creating a risk score for patients with small bowel obstructions.  She has been recognized at both national and regional levels for her surgical research and has presented her research at the national meeting of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. O’Leary has been a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, the DC Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, the Georgetown Clinical Society, the American Medical Association, and the Montgomery County Medical Society.   For multiple years, Dr. O’Leary has been awarded Washingtonian Top Doctor and has received other prestigious awards as one of America’s Top Surgeons.  She is affiliated with Georgetown University Hospital as well as Sibley Memorial and Suburban Hospitals in the Johns Hopkins Medicine System.  She was actively involved with the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in program development for the WCRC & Sisters in Harmony.  She participated in a community-based initiative with emphasis on education and awareness and helped connect patients with cancer to the resources in the community.  
Dr. O’Leary’s most important role is taking care of her patients and providing a safe, reassuring place that will help them to easily navigate the confusing world of cancer, cancer therapies and benign breast diseases.  Her patients come first and her greatest reward comes from being able to help patients through their most trying times, getting them to the other side and bringing a smile back to their hearts and faces.
Dr. O’Leary lives in Maryland with her husband and three children.  In her free time, she enjoys ballroom dancing, playing cello, knitting, cooking and spending time with family.