Nikolajs Lapins, MD

Nikolajs A. Lapins was born in Riga, Latvia, and was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Washington. He is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Medicine. A residency in dermatology was completed at Brooke Army Medical Center, followed a year later by a fellowship in dermatopathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. A final fellowship in Mohs micrographic surgery and dermatologic surgery was competed at the University of California San Francisco.

Dr. Lapins was the first Mohs surgeon in the United States Army Medical Corps. He was the chief of dermatologic surgery at Letterman Army Medical Center for many years, retiring as a full colonel in 1989. Since that time he has been in private practice in the Bay Area and since 1998 has been practicing exclusively in Burlingame. Dr. Lapins has a wide range of interests in dermatology but is particularly known for Mohs micrographic surgery for problem skin cancers and for various aspects of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Lapins has always been heavily involved in athletics, playing basketball and handball and for many years was a serious tournament tennis player. In recent years he has become involved in golf, which while being pursued with his usual zeal, continues to be a work in progress.

Dr. Lapins is Board-Certified in dermatology and dermatopathology and is a member of many medical organizations, including the American Academy of Dermatology, the American College of Mohs Surgery, the American Society of Dermatopathology, the AMA, the California Medical Association, the San Mateo Medical Society, the Pacific Dermatologic Association, the San Francisco Dermatologic Association, and the Association of Military Dermatologists. He is a full clinical professor in the dermatology department at University of California San Francisco.

In 2001, Dr. Lapins was blessed with the birth of his daughter, Aleksandra. He is fluent in Latvian.

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