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Nadiv Shapira, MD

Medical Director
Lipedema Treatment Network, First State Lipedema
Wilmington, Delaware, United States

Dr. Shapira has been a Cardiac Surgeon for over twenty-five years, specialized in adult cardiac surgery, developed expertise in Electrophysiological Cardiac Surgery, ablation of atrial fibrillation. Later focused more on thoracic surgery and Phlebology.

In late 2014, Lipedema intrigued him, and after learning how few U.S. physicians had the knowledge of how to diagnose and treat Lipedema, decided to get involved. After studying with Dr. Josef Stutz, in Germany, Dr. Shapira founded the First State Lipedema that offers diagnosis, conservative treatment and Water-Jet Assisted Liposuction (WAL), to women from all over the U.S. In 2022, founded the Lipedema Treatment Network (LTN) and lately East Coast Lipedema Center.

He firmly believe that treatment of Lipedema should be covered by insurance carriers and has been successful in getting coverage in about 90% of his patients.

Throughout his medical career, have been interested in clinical research and published many peer-reviewed articles in the fields of cardiac surgery and interventional pain management. Lately, focuses on how to apply the water jet technology to Lipedema while preserving the lymphatics and the role of the different layers of the subcutaneous fat and fascia in the disease. Latest research is on quantitative measurement of the pain threshold of the lipedematous nodular adipose tissue.

He was certified by the American Board of Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery and lately, by the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine. He’s a member of the American College of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine and the American Venous Forum and a funding member of the newly formed World Lipedema Alliance.

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