University of California San Francisco

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

  1. Related Conditions: Breast Cancer| Start Date: | End Date:

Program Affiliations

Research Interests

Breast reconstruction clinical outcomes

Capsular contracture

Extremity sarcoma

Publications

MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 70
  1. Epidermal Penetration Increases with Age and May Contribute to Systemic Inflammation.
    Parenteau TR, Celli A, Zhang J, Gonzalez J, Meyer JM, Abegaze B, Piper ML, Elias PM, Abuabara K, Grunfeld C, Man MQ, Scharschmidt TC, Mauro TM| | PubMed
  2. Balancing risks of surgical complications and positive margins for patients with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast and elevated BMI: An institutional cohort study.
    Falade I, Switalla K, Quirarte A, Baxter M, Soroudi D, Rothschild H, Abe SE, Goodwin K, Piper M, Alvarado M, Julian BQ, Ewing C, Wong J, Rose J, Esserman L, Foster R, Mukhtar RA| | PubMed
  3. Comparing Provider and ChatGPT Responses to Breast Reconstruction Patient Questions in the Electronic Health Record.
    Soroudi D, Gozali A, Knox JA, Parmeshwar N, Sadjadi R, Wilson JC, Lee SA, Piper ML| | PubMed
  4. Abdominal Mesh Use in Pedicled Rectus Abdominis Flaps for Pelvic Reconstruction.
    Barnes LL, Holland MC, Lentz R, Knox JA, Sbitany H, Piper M| | PubMed
  5. ChatGPT for improving postoperative instructions in multiple fields of plastic surgery.
    Zhang A, Li CXR, Piper M, Rose J, Chen K, Lin AY| | PubMed
  6. Oncologic Safety of Immediate Oncoplastic Surgery Compared with Standard Breast-Conserving Surgery for Patients with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma.
    Falade I, Switalla K, Quirarte A, Baxter M, Soroudi D, Rothschild H, Abe SE, Goodwin K, Piper M, Wong J, Foster R, Mukhtar RA| | PubMed
  7. Soft Tissue Reconstruction After Sacral Neoplasm Resection: The University of California San Francisco Experience.
    Falade IO, Knox JA, Piper ML, Hoffman WY, Hansen SL| | PubMed
  8. The Utility of Prevena Negative Pressure Wound Therapy on Groin Incisions for Critical Limb-Threatening Ischemia: A Single Institution Experience.
    Yin R, Gursky A, Falade I, Knox J, Gomez-Sanchez C, Soroudi D, Piper M, Hoffman W, Hansen SL| | PubMed
  9. Paraspinous Muscle Flaps in Complex Pediatric Spine Surgeries: A 12-Year Single Institution Experience.
    Falade I, Park KM, Conkling N, Kim EA, Hansen SL, Hoffman W, Piper ML| | PubMed
  10. Short cell cycle duration is a phenotype of human epidermal stem cells.
    Xiao T, Eze UC, Charruyer-Reinwald A, Weisenberger T, Khalifa A, Abegaze B, Schwab GK, Elsabagh RH, Parenteau TR, Kochanowski K, Piper M, Xia Y, Cheng JB, Cho RJ, Ghadially R| | PubMed