Repeat surgery and additional examinations for melanoma

What happens during melanoma repeat surgery?

In repeat surgery for melanoma, we will remove the surgical scar and a required area around it. We operate on thin melanomas with a good prognosis at the Dermatology Unit, and other melanomas are operated at the Plastic Surgery Unit.

In connection with surgery, if necessary, we will investigate the possible spread of the cancer to the lymph nodes with a sentinel lymph node mapping.

Additional examinations after repeat surgery

We will plan any additional examinations only after the repeat surgery, when the pathologist’s results on the thickness of the melanoma and other factors predicting the severity of the disease have been confirmed.

• If the melanoma is localized and superficial and no cancer is detected in the sentinel lymph nodes, follow-up alone is sufficient.
• If the tumor is thick and extends deeper into the skin, we will determine the extent of the cancer with an ultrasound scan of the lymph nodes or computed tomography of the head and body prior to surgery.

If your follow-up is directed to the Comprehensive Cancer Center due to risk factors, we will perform a computed tomography of your head and body after surgery.

Preoperative immunological neoadjuvant therapy

If, at the time of diagnosis, the melanoma has already metastasized to a lymph node in the vicinity of the primary tumor, we may consider preoperative immunological neoadjuvant therapy, which is administered with the goal of achieving a cure and reducing the risk of recurrence.

The treatment is associated with a fair number of adverse effects, so it is only suitable for patients in good health who do not have active autoimmune diseases or other significant underlying medical conditions.