Minimally Invasive Groin Dissection for Melanoma

This study is a multi-center, Phase 1 clinical trial to determine the safety and feasibility of minimally invasive inguinal lymph node dissection for patients with melanoma. Licensed surgeons who have undergone special training, including a course at the Mayo Clinic Rochester in minimally invasive lymph node dissection (MILND) will perform the new procedure at their home institutions. The study will characterize the learning curve of MILND in the clinical setting, and evaluate the safety of the new operative technique. The hypotheses for this study are: 1) minimally invasive groin dissection is a safe procedure. 2) a structured educational training program is a feasible and effective method to train practicing surgeons in this novel procedure and 3) pre-course generic laparoscopic technical skills correlate with minimally invasive superficial groin dissection performance in a clinical setting, including operative oncologic standards and safety metrics.