Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, is ranked the #1 hospital in Florida and is ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer care.
The Melanoma Surgical Oncology team at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, centers around an experienced group of fellowship-trained surgeons. The team includes surgical oncologists, physician assistants, nurses, research coordinators and support staff dedicated to the management of patients with skin cancer. The team has expertise in compassionately caring for people with serious and complex conditions and is recognized for its safe and excellent outcomes.
No other cancer program in Florida ranks higher than Mayo Clinic.
Mayo Clinic melanoma surgeons practice in an atmosphere of inquiry and innovation, continually evolving and advancing their care of people with melanoma. Through basic science research and clinical trials, the team develops and evaluates novel approaches and treatments for skin cancer that allows them to offer patients the most up-to-date care.
Surgeons play an active role in almost all stages of melanoma. There are multiple types of operations for melanoma aimed at treating and preventing the spread or return of this aggressive cancer. Our team of melanoma surgical oncologists has the expertise and resources to treat all forms of melanoma.
Integrated, multidisciplinary clinical and research practice
Care at Mayo Clinic is based on a patient-centered, collaborative approach to ensure accurate diagnosis as well as timely management and surgical intervention. Melanoma surgical oncologists at the Florida campus collaborate closely with other specialists — including dermatologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, head and neck surgeons, radiologists, and plastic and reconstructive surgeons — to provide expert multidisciplinary care.
Research translates into practice innovation
Surgical oncologists within the department also are career researchers. They conduct research in basic and translational science, clinical trials for novel therapies and surgical techniques, and quality improvement to continually advance patient care.
The melanoma program leverages the latest science and care practices, relying on precise diagnosis, skilled surgical excision and the latest immunotherapies. Physician-scientists collaborate on patient care, innovative research and diagnostic excellence to provide highly individualized melanoma care.
Mayo Clinic offers the latest in melanoma surgical care with innovative therapies, new techniques and clinical trials.
Personalized care, rapidly tailored to your needs
Our multidisciplinary team model allows us to offer the most recent skin cancer treatment advances to develop a personalized comprehensive treatment plan. Your surgeons partner with you to remove the melanoma while striving to optimize your quality of life and long-term health.
For example, our approach to lymph node surgery for newly diagnosed skin cancer is to first ensure we stage the disease accurately, and based on that, provide you with the best treatment plan.
- Mayo Clinic's coordinated team approach lets us avoid unnecessary procedures when possible, to provide the highest chance of cure while minimizing complications.
- Our surgical oncologists perform sentinel lymph node biopsy procedures to identify and remove the first lymph nodes draining from the melanoma, to see if cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. If you have been diagnosed with melanoma, a sentinel lymph node biopsy may be used to help determine the stage of your cancer.
- For melanoma tumors that have not spread to other areas, we perform a procedure called wide local excision. Depending on the site and extent of the surgery, a skin graft may be needed to close the surgical wound and reduce scarring.
- If the melanoma is deep or has spread to the regional lymph nodes, immunotherapy may be offered in partnership with our medical oncologists. Your team may also perform a lymph node dissection procedure (sometimes called lymphadenectomy).
- Mayo Clinic in Florida is one of only a few specialized centers in the country that performs isolated limb infusion (ILI) and hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion (HILP).
- These procedures deliver a high dose of chemotherapy directly to an affected limb.
- The chemotherapy remains concentrated only in the arm or leg, so a patient can absorb a higher dosage than through an IV without side effects to other parts of the body.
Streamlined care
Mayo Clinic understands that a diagnosis of melanoma is stressful for patients and families. In addition to emotional stress and uncertainty, it can be daunting to accommodate the travel, time and associated expense of obtaining care.
Melanoma Surgical Oncology is part of an integrated multidisciplinary group of cancer care specialties. The group provides streamlined collaboration for a comprehensive treatment plan that minimizes the time and expense of being away from home. We design our surgical practice protocols to bring you a detailed diagnosis and the best care as efficiently as possible. Our goal is to minimize the time between first seeking care and starting on your path to recovery.
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy to treat advanced melanoma
The Florida campus is one of the few select sites nationwide to offer U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy. Also called TIL therapy, this therapy treats advanced melanoma that has been resistant to or failed prior therapy.
- The surgical oncologist removes tissue from a melanoma site and sends it to the clinic lab.
- The lab then harvests a specific type of immune cells that have learned to recognize and fight the melanoma.
- Those cells are multiplied and reinfused back into the patient in an "activated" state so they can seek out and attack tumors more powerfully than before.