He is known as a "bloodless surgeon" due to his willingness to perform surgeries on severely anemic Jehovah's Witness patients without the use of blood transfusions, which are forbidden by the religion.
He completed medical school in New York City and established his practice in Orange County, CA, in the 1970s, where he lived until his death.
He founded several bloodless surgery centers in Southern California, including hospitals in Norwalk, Bellflower, and Fountain Valley, and became an advocate of non-blood medical management.
In 1980, Lapin was chosen by a Japanese pharmaceutical firm to operate on Jehovah's Witness patients, with conditional FDA approval, using Fluosol DA, as an artificial blood substitute.
[1] Lapin's divorce was reported on in Orange County and Los Angeles newspapers, and rape allegations were made against him.