Skip to main content
PNEC 2025 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Benjamin W. Starnes, MD

Professor and Chief; Division of Vascular Surgery
University of Washington
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, United States

Biography 2025
Benjamin W. Starnes, M.D., F.A.C.S., is a board certified vascular surgeon at Harborview Medical Center. Dr. Starnes is a Professor of Vascular Surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery for UW Medicine in Seattle, Washington. He was the longest serving Division Chief at the University of Washington from 2007 to 2024. He is now the Director of Aortic Surgery at the University of Washington.


Dr. Starnes is recognized nationally and internationally for his work in complex aortic pathology and vascular trauma, most notably the management of juxtarenal and pararenal aortic aneurysms, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms and acute aortic syndromes. Prior to accepting his position at the University of Washington, Dr. Starnes spent a total of 15 years in the United States Army serving three combat tours, one in Kosovo and two in Iraq. He is the principal investigator for one of only a handful of physician-sponsored IDE’s in the United States involving physician-modified fenestrated endografts. Dr. Starnes’ extensive research involvement combined with his clinical and technical abilities provides him with opportunities to speak regularly at medical conferences around the world. He has accepted thirty-nine national visiting professorships and lectured internationally on five continents and in seventeen different countries including France, Belgium, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan and China. He has been author or co-author of over 170 peer-reviewed publications. He created and edited the only textbook solely dedicated to the management of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. On 9/11/2001 Dr. Starnes was a first responder to the Pentagon and is featured in the book, American Phoenix; Heroes of the Pentagon on 9/11. Dr. Starnes’ editorial review responsibilities with the leading vascular journals include The Journal of Vascular Surgery, Circulation, New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet. He was President of the Western Vascular Society in 2020.

Presentation(s):