Biography
Dr. Merisa L. Piper is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specializes in breast reconstruction and general reconstruction, with expertise in all methods. With the goal of restoring appearance after partial or complete breast removal, she focuses particularly on microsurgery and free tissue transfer, using skin, fat and muscle from another part of the body.
Piper's research focuses on improving outcomes after breast reconstruction, particularly after microsurgery and oncoplastic surgery, which combines tumor removal with reconstruction. She is interested in how the timing of breast reconstruction and various interventions may affect the development or prevention of capsular contracture (the body naturally encapsulates a synthetic implant, and the capsule sometimes shrinks and causes discomfort). She also studies how to improve outcomes in patients who have had tumor removal in combination with breast reconstruction.
Piper earned her medical degree from the University of California, Irvine. She completed a combined general surgery and plastic surgery residency at UCSF. During her residency, she spent one year investigating breast reconstruction outcomes and developing a phase II clinical trial, a study that examines a treatment's efficacy and safety. She then completed a fellowship in microsurgery at the University of Pennsylvania.
Piper has authored more than 25 papers and presented her work nationally and internationally. She is a breast section editor for Annals of Plastic Surgery and a guest reviewer for four scientific journals.
In her free time, Piper enjoys running, swimming, baking and being with her husband and two kids.
Education
Institution | Degree | Dept or School | End Date |
---|---|---|---|
University of California | Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training | 2019 |
Clinical Expertise
Abdominoplasty
Body Contouring
Botox and Fillers
Breast Reconstruction
Breast Surgery
General Reconstructive Surgery
Liposuction
Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction
Microvascular Surgery
Reconstructive Microsurgery
Skin Cancer Reconstruction
Trauma Reconstruction
Clinical Trials
- Related Conditions: Breast Cancer| Start Date: | End Date:
- Microbiome and Association With Implant Infections (NCT05020574)Related Conditions: Breast Cancer| Start Date: | End Date:
Program Affiliations
Research Interests
Breast reconstruction clinical outcomes
Capsular contracture
Extremity sarcoma
Research Pathways
Publications
MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 61
- Paraspinous Muscle Flaps in Complex Pediatric Spine Surgeries: A 12-Year Single Institution Experience.| | View in PubMed
- ASO Visual Abstract: Nipple-Sparing Mastectomies in Patients over the Age of 60 Years: Factors Associated with Surgical Outcomes.| | View in PubMed
- ASO Author Reflections: Evaluating Nipple-Sparing Mastectomies in Patients Over Age 60.| | View in PubMed
- Evaluating mesh use for abdominal donor site closure after deep inferior epigastric perforator flap breast reconstruction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.| | View in PubMed
- Nipple-Sparing Mastectomies in Patients over the Age of 60 Years: Factors Associated with Surgical Outcomes.| | View in PubMed
- The impact of post-mastectomy radiation timing on overall outcomes of autologous free-flap breast reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Reviewing the Impact of Topical and Intravenous Tranexamic Acid Use in Breast Plastic Surgery.| | View in PubMed
- Modifiable Post-Mastectomy Radiation Therapy Factors and Impact on Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction Outcomes.| | View in PubMed
- Evaluation of Microvascular Autologous Breast Reconstruction in Patients Older Than 60 Years.| | View in PubMed
- Relationship between Body Mass Index and Outcomes in Microvascular Abdominally Based Autologous Breast Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Immediate Versus Delayed-Immediate Autologous Breast Reconstruction After Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy.| | View in PubMed
- Long-Term Outcomes in Prepectoral versus Subpectoral Two-Stage Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction after Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy.| | View in PubMed
- Expanding Candidacy for Nipple-sparing Mastectomy in Women with Large or Ptotic Breasts: Staged Reconstruction Outcomes.| | View in PubMed
- Safety of Incision Placement with Nipple-sparing Mastectomy and Immediate Prepectoral Breast Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Prepectoral Breast Reconstruction Reduces Opioid Consumption and Pain After Mastectomy: A Head-to-Head Comparison With Submuscular Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Surgical Skills Coaches: Preparing for a peer-assisted learning model to train medical students in surgical skills.| | View in PubMed
- A novel microsurgical reconstruction technique in a living-related liver donor hepatic artery dissection using the native hepatic artery.| | View in PubMed
- Direct-to-Implant Versus 2-Stage Breast Reconstruction: Which Technique Is Better? An Analysis of 104 Patients at a Single Institution.| | View in PubMed
- The Impact of a Single Dual-Trained Surgeon in the Management of Mastectomy and Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Lymphatic Complications of the Groin Following Open Lower Extremity Revascularization with Plastic Surgery Closure.| | View in PubMed
- Prophylactic Muscle Flaps in Primary Vascular Procedures of the Groin.| | View in PubMed
- Evaluation of Dual-port versus Single-port Tissue Expanders in Postmastectomy Breast Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Positive margins after mastectomy in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast: Incidence and management strategies.| | View in PubMed
- A Systematic Review of the Utility of Indocyanine Angiography in Autologous Breast Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Quantifying the Psychosocial Benefits of Masculinizing Mastectomy in Trans Male Patients with Patient-Reported Outcomes: The University of California, San Francisco, Gender Quality of Life Survey.| | View in PubMed
- Assessment of Arm Volume Using a Tape Measure Versus a 3D Optical Scanner in Survivors with Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema.| | View in PubMed
- A world-wide survey on kidney transplantation practices in breast cancer survivors: The need for new management guidelines.| | View in PubMed
- Laparoscopy allows the harvest of the DIEP flap with shorter fascial incisions as compared to endoscopic harvest: A single surgeon retrospective cohort study.| | View in PubMed
- Developing Human Skin Contains Lymphocytes Demonstrating a Memory Signature.| | View in PubMed
- Oncological Outcomes of Total Skin-Sparing Mastectomy for Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast: A 20-Year Institutional Experience.| | View in PubMed
- Minimally invasive robotic-assisted harvest of the deep inferior epigastric perforator flap for autologous breast reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- A Bipedicled Flap for Closure of the Anterolateral Thigh Flap Donor Site.| | View in PubMed
- A Critical Analysis of Prosthetic Augmentation of Autologous Microvascular Breast Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Attributes of Perforator Flaps for Prophylatic Soft Tissue Augmentation Prior to Definitive Total Knee Arthroplasty.| | View in PubMed
- Medial Femoral Condyle Free Flap Reconstruction of Complex Foot and Ankle Pathology.| | View in PubMed
- Success rates of re-excision after positive margins for invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast.| | View in PubMed
- Development and Validation of a Nipple-Specific Scale for the BREAST-Q to Assess Patient-Reported Outcomes following Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy.| | View in PubMed
- The "Dual-Plane" DIEP Flap: Measuring the Effects of Superficial Arterial and Venous Flow Augmentation on Clinical Outcomes.| | View in PubMed
- Prepectoral Breast Reconstruction in the Setting of Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy: An Assessment of Clinical Outcomes and Benefits.| | View in PubMed
- Breast Conservation and Negative Margins in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: The Impact of Oncoplastic Surgery and Shave Margins in 358 Patients.| | View in PubMed
- Commentary on: The Nasal Ligaments and Tip Support in Rhinoplasty: An Anatomical Study.| | View in PubMed
- Commentary on: Medial Osteoectomy as a Routine Procedure in Rhinoplasty: Six-Year Experience with an Innovative Technique.| | View in PubMed
- Correction of Breast Animation Deformity following Prosthetic Breast Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Autologous Fat Grafting as a Novel Antiestrogen Vehicle for the Treatment of Breast Cancer.| | View in PubMed
- Prepectoral Breast Reconstruction: A Safe Alternative to Submuscular Prosthetic Reconstruction following Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy.| | View in PubMed
- Characterizing infections in prosthetic breast reconstruction: A validity assessment of national health databases.| | View in PubMed
- Immediate Reconstruction for Plantar Melanoma: A Paradigm Shift.| | View in PubMed
- An Innovative Risk-Reducing Approach to Postmastectomy Radiation Delivery after Autologous Breast Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Do Prolonged Prophylactic Antibiotics Reduce the Incidence of Surgical-Site Infections in Immediate Prosthetic Breast Reconstruction?| | View in PubMed
- The Novel Application of Genomic Profiling Assays to Shorten Inactive Status for Potential Kidney Transplant Recipients With Breast Cancer.| | View in PubMed
- Axillary Web Syndrome: Current Understanding and New Directions for Treatment.| | View in PubMed
- Outcomes Following Oncoplastic Reduction Mammoplasty: A Systematic Review.| | View in PubMed
- Distraction Osteogenesis of Multiple Ribs for the Treatment of Acquired Thoracic Dystrophy.| | View in PubMed
- Pediatric lower extremity sarcoma reconstruction: A review of limb salvage procedures and outcomes.| | View in PubMed
- Comparison of Mammographic Findings Following Oncoplastic Mammoplasty and Lumpectomy Without Reconstruction.| | View in PubMed
- Oncoplastic breast surgery: current strategies.| | View in PubMed
- Total skin-sparing mastectomy: a systematic review of oncologic outcomes and postoperative complications.| | View in PubMed
- Impairment of central leptin-mediated PI3K signaling manifested as hepatic steatosis independent of hyperphagia and obesity.| | View in PubMed
- Functional role of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 upregulation in hypothalamic leptin resistance and long-term energy homeostasis.| | View in PubMed
- Functional role of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase in feeding regulation.| | View in PubMed
- Specific physiological roles for signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in leptin receptor-expressing neurons.| | View in PubMed