Dr. Michelle Copeland is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Libby R. Copeland-Halperin to her Cosmetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery practice. 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, is the author of over 70 publications, and presents her research 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 internship and 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 also engaged in research on patient safety and quality outcomes in both general and plastic surgery, winning awards for research and teaching.

After training in general surgery, Dr. Copeland-Halperin pursued additional training in plastic and reconstructive surgery at 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 pursued additional advanced training in microsurgery with a focus on implant-based and autologous breast reconstruction at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. 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. Michelle 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, United Health Care and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield. Please call our office to confirm insurance plan participation.

Education and Training

• Fellow in Breast Reconstruction and Microsurgery, The Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
• Chief Resident in Plastic Surgery, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH
• Residencies in General Surgery and Plastic 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

• Board-Eligible in Plastic Surgery
• Board Certification in General Surgery
• Diplomate, American Board of Surgery
• Continuing certification
• Certification in Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery
• Certification in Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery

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
• All-Academic Team, National Fast Pitch Coaches Association, 2006

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.