meet dr. libby copeland-halperin

Welcome Dr. Libby Copeland-Halperin Board-Certified General Surgeon, Board Eligible Plastic Surgeon, Breast Reconstruction Expert

Dr. Michelle Copeland is pleased to announce that Dr. Libby R. Copeland-Halperin has joined her in the practice of Cosmetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Copeland-Halperin is Board-Certified in General Surgery and Board-Eligible in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and the author of over 70 publications and presentations, and presents at regional and national scientific meetings.

A native New Yorker, Dr. Copeland-Halperin was raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and attended the Horace Mann School. She studied at Williams College, where she earned her baccalaureate degree in Art History and played for the softball team. During college, Dr. Copeland-Halperin was selected to join the Humanities and Medicine program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, an early acceptance program designed to attract and foster humanistic medical students. After receiving her medical degree, Dr. Copeland-Halperin completed residency in general surgery at the Inova Fairfax Medical Center, a large tertiary care hospital in Northern Virginia, where she became Chief Resident for Quality and Safety and served on several hospital committees. She engaged in research on patient safety and quality outcomes in both general and plastic surgery and won awards for research and teaching.

After training in general surgery, Dr. Copeland-Halperin pursued additional training in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where she was exposed to the full breadth of plastic surgery, including reconstruction after trauma and cancer, aesthetic and cosmetic surgery, wound healing and correction of congenital deformities. She then completed advanced training in microsurgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston with a focus on implant-based and autologous breast reconstruction. She brings a humanistic dimension to plastic surgery and enjoys helping patients achieve their cosmetic, aesthetic, and reconstructive goals through a combination of surgical and non-surgical techniques.

Dr. Copeland-Halperin is excited to return to New York City to join Dr. Copeland in practice as one of very few mother-daughter plastic surgery duos in the nation. In her spare time, Dr. Copeland-Halperin enjoys traveling, hiking, cooking, baking, and spending time with her family.

Locations and Insurance

Dr. Copeland-Halperin sees patients and operates at 1001 Fifth Avenue (directly across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art) and also operates at Lenox Hill Hospital, an affiliate of Northwell Health, where she is involved in teaching residents. Dr. Copeland-Halperin is a provider to insurance plans including Medicare, Aetna, Cigna, United Health Care and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield. Please call 212-452-2200 to schedule an appointment.

Procedures

Education and Training

Fellow in Breast Reconstruction and Microsurgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Residency in Plastic Surgery, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
Residency in General Surgery, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, Falls Church, VA
Internship in General Surgery, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, Falls Church, VA
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York NY, MD 2013

Certifications and Memberships

Board-Eligible in Plastic Surgery
Board Certification in General Surgery
Diplomate, American Board of Surgery
American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery Member
New York State Society of Plastic Surgeons Candidate Member

Awards and Honors

Top tier poster, Plastic Surgery the Meeting, 2021
First place award, Vermont Chapter of the American College of Surgeons annual meeting, 2020
Recognition for medical student teaching and mentorship, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, 2020
Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Teaching, Inova Fairfax Hospital, 2017, 2018
Certificate of Research Excellence among Residents, Inova Fairfax Hospital, 2016, 2017
Finalist, VA/DC Chapter of the American College of Surgeons Annual Meeting, 2016
Certificate of Research Excellence among Junior Residents, Inova Fairfax Hospital, 2015
Summer Research Scholar, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 2010
Dean’s List, Williams College, 2007-2009
Scholar-Athlete Award, Williams College, 2007-2009
Scholar-Athlete Award, New England Small College Athletic Conference, 2007-2009

Research and Publications

Libby R. Copeland-Halperin, MD et al. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Screening after Silicone Implant Breast Surgery: Patient Survey of Adherence to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Recommendations Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, August 2022. See also: Few patients undergo recommended MRI screening after silicone implant breast surgery
Copeland-Halperin LR, Lyatskaya Y, Bellon JR, Carty MJ, Erdmann-Sager J. Comparison of Radiation Protocols for Prepectoral vs. Subpectoral Breast Implant-based Reconstruction. Presented at the American Association of Plastic Surgeons annual meeting, April 2022, San Diego, CA.
Cole, Naomi A. BS; Copeland-Halperin, Libby R. MD†; Shank, Nina MD†; Shankaran, Vidya MD,†. BRCA2-associated Breast Cancer in Transgender Women: Reconstructive Challenges and Literature Review. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open: April 2022 – Volume 10 – Issue 4
Copeland-Halperin LR, Copeland M. Current Trends in Free Nipple Grafting During Reduction Mammoplasty: A Survey of ASPS Members. Presented as Top Tier Poster at Plastic Surgery the Meeting, October 2021, Atlanta, GA.
Copeland-Halperin LR, Shank N, Wampler AT, Doughty H, Reategui Via y Rada ML, Levy JJ, Rosen JM. MRI Screening after Silicone Implant-based Breast Surgery: A Survey of Adherence with FDA Recommendations. Presented at Plastic Surgery the Meeting annual meeting, October 2020 (virtual presentation due to COVID-19)
Copeland-Halperin LR, Wampler A, Shank N, Doughty H, Reategui Via y Rada ML, and Rosen JM. Patient Awareness of and Adherence to MRI Screening after Silicone Implant-based Breast Surgery. Accepted for presentation at the New England Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery annual meeting, originally June 2020 (meeting cancelled due to COVID-19)
Copeland-Halperin LR, Yemc L, Emery E, Collins C, Liu C, Mesbahi AN, Venturi ML. Postoperative Narcotic Use in Prepectoral Versus Dual-Plane Breast Reconstruction. Presented at the American College of Surgeons Quality and Safety Conference, July 2019, Washington, DC.
Inova SEED grant award: “Culture Swabs in the Evaluation of Wound Infection: A Critical Assessment of Unresolved Issues” (PI, Dr. Reza Miraliakbari; 2014-2015)
Copeland-Halperin LR, Pimpinella V, Copeland M. Combined liposuction and excision of lipomas: Long-term evaluation of a large sample of patients, Plast Surg Intern. 2015; Article ID 625396.
Copeland-Halperin LR, Cohen, RA. Recurrent breast cancer in a patient with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Case Rep Surg. 2015; Article ID 659395.
Copeland-Halperin LR, Kaminsky AJ, Bluefeld N, Miraliakbari R. Sample procurement for cultures of infected wounds: A systematic review. J Wound Care. 2016;25 Suppl 4: S4-S10.

From Modern Aesthetics:

Only 6% of women with silicone breast implants followed the previous FDA recommendation for regular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screening, suggests a study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

Despite discussion and information provided at the time of their breast implant procedure, most patients said they were unaware that MRI scans were recommended to detect asymptomatic implant rupture, according to the new research by Libby R. Copeland-Halperin, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues.

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Listen to Dr. Copeland-Halperin On the Importance of Breast Implant Screening

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This Is How Often Your Breast Implants Actually Need to Be Screened

NEW BEAUTY August 10, 2022

After a breast augmentation with implants, you may assume you’re set for a decade or so. However, FDA recommendations urge patients to get their implants screened much more regularly than that. A recent study found that the majority of breast implant patients aren’t compliant with these screening recommendations…

In the press release, Libby Copeland-Halperin, MD, speculates that lack of access to care and costly screenings may be part of the reason patients aren’t adhering to the guidelines.

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Most Women Unaware of Screening Recommendations to Detect Possible Rupture After Receiving Silicone Breast Implants

“So many women … have had breast cancer and undergo breast reconstruction with (silicone) implants … it’s important to be aware they do require some routine surveillance and maintenance,” said Dr. Libby Copeland-Halperin, a plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic surgeon at a private practice in New York City, in an interview with CURE®.
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Few patients undergo recommended MRI screening after silicone implant breast surgery

by Wolters Kluwer Health

Only six percent of women with silicone breast implants followed the previous US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendation for regular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screening, suggests a study in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Despite discussion and information provided at the time of their breast implant procedure, most patients were unaware that MRI scans were recommended to detect asymptomatic implant rupture, according to the new research by Libby R. Copeland-Halperin, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues.

Continue reading