I am a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon at Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute. I care for patients in need of coronary artery bypass grafting, heart valve repair/replacement, advanced mechanical support for heart failure, as well as transcatheter-based therapeutics including TAVR/MitraClip. I am trained on the latest transcatheter technologies, which can help treat heart conditions using minimally invasive techniques. 

I grew up in a small town and initially wanted to become a pediatrician to help create a foundation of healthy living for children. As I was exposed to different areas of medicine, I was drawn towards surgery – I love the immediacy of it. Surgeons do not have to wait months or years for their interventions to make an impact. We see a problem and fix it. I’m excited by how rapidly our field of medicine continues to develop thanks to new, minimally invasive technologies.

Heart surgery can have a dramatic impact on someone’s life. Whether providing coronary artery bypass for patients experiencing a heart attack or alleviating heart failure symptoms by replacing an aortic valve, heart surgeons save lives. When working with patients, I try to both provide evidenced-based, life-saving surgery and also teach/coach my patients through their experience.

I am involved in clinical research exploring the outcomes of cardiac surgery on high-risk populations and teaching physicians/allied health professions at many different levels of practice. Before joining Memorial, I was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. I also served as an adjunct assistant professor of surgery for the University of Miami. 

Hospital Affiliations

• Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
• Memorial Hospital Miramar
• Memorial Hospital Pembroke
• Memorial Hospital West
• Memorial Regional Hospital

Gender

• Male

Languages

• English

Education

Louisiana State University School Of Medicine, 2013

Residency

Emory University School Of Medicine, 2019, Cardiothoracic Surgery

Fellowships

Certifications

American Board of Thoracic Surgery-Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

Publications

Please view Dr. John Nicholas Melvan’s publications on PubMed. 

 

Lectures & Interviews

• Holy Cross Hospital, Cardiac Hour Lecture, "Advances in Cardiac Surgery," 2/19/2020
• WSVN-TV Channel 7 News, Interview, "Covid-19 Survivor Walks Out of Fort Lauderdale Hospital Thanks to New Technology," 4/29/2020
• Holy Cross Cardiology Grand Rounds, "Cardiovascular Health in the COVID-19 Era,” Co-Hosted with David Dudzinski, MD; MGH Chief Cardiac Intensivist at Holy Cross Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, 6/17/2020

Research

Cardiothoracic surgery is a rapidly evolving field. Outcomes research helps us explore the benefits and risks of new procedures while also improving the quality of care for patients. My research interests include regenerative medicine, sepsis, and surgical outcomes research. My surgical outcomes research focuses on unique, at-risk patient populations. HIV patients represent an at-risk patient population with little known regarding their cardiac surgery outcomes. 

South Florida has one of the largest concentrations of patients living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country. The prognosis and management HIV has vastly changed with the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART), accounting for a 7-fold increase in life expectancy. However, HIV patients today live with a chronic illness and have a 4.5-fold excess risk of cardiovascular disease secondary to their ART medications. My recent research has focused on evaluating the outcomes for these patients for elective cardiac surgery.

Professional Organizations

• American College of Surgeons
• Society of Thoracic Surgeons
• American College of Cardiology
• American Board of Thoracic Surgery

Presentations

• Melvan J.N., Khullar O., Vemulapalli S., Kosinski A.S., Pickens A., Force S., Zhang S., and Sancheti M.S. The Impact of Socioeconomic Variables and Community Size on Outcomes after Lung Cancer Resection, a Review of the STS General Thoracic Surgery Database. Society of Thoracic Surgeons 56th Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. January 28th, 2019. Oral Presentation. 
• Melvan J.N., Heard M., Wolf M., Davis J., Kanter K.R., Deshpande S., and Alsoufi B. Factors Associated with Survival Following Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Children. Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. 65th Annual Meeting.  Amelia Island, FL. November 9, 2018. Oral Presentation.
• Melvan J.N., Thourani V.H., Binongo J.N., Leshnower B., Chen E.P., Sarin E., Guyton R.A., Halkos M.E., and Keeling WB. Unplanned Procedures in Cardiac Surgery; Quantifying the Importance of Preoperative Planning and Error Prevention. American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2016. Washington D.C. October 16-20, 2016. Oral Presentation. 
• Melvan J.N., Thourani V., Binongo J., Jensen H., Condado J., Forcillo J., Babliaros V., and Sarin E. Differential Effects of Blood Transfusion after Surgical and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Propensity Matched Analysis. 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Valve Society. New York City, NY. March 17-19, 2016. Poster Presentation.
• Melvan J.N., Sancheti M.S., Gilespie T., Nickleach D., Liu Y., Higgins K., Ramalingam S., Lipscomb J., and Fernandez F. Non-Clinical Factors Associated with 30-Day Mortality Following Lung Cancer Resection: An Analysis of 215,000 Patients Using the National Cancer Data Base. Department of Surgery Research Day. Emory University School of Medicine. Atlanta, GA. April 30, 2015. Oral Presentation.
• Melvan J.N., Sancheti M.S., Gilespie T., Nickleach D., Liu Y., Higgins K., Ramalingam S., Lipscomb J., and Fernandez F. Non-Clinical Factors Associated with 30-Day Mortality Following Lung Cancer Resection: An Analysis of 215,000 Patients Using the National Cancer Data Base. Department of Surgery Research Day. Emory University School of Medicine. Atlanta, GA. April 30, 2015. Oral Presentation.
• Sancheti M., Melvan J.N., Medbery R., Fernandez F., Gillespie T., Li Q., Binongo J., Pickens A., and Force S. Outcomes Following Surgery in High-Risk Patients with Early-Stage Lung Cancer. 2014 Annual Meeting of The Society for Thoracic Surgeons. San Diego, CA. January 24-25, 2015. Oral Presentation.
• Greiffenstein P., Melvan J.N., Forrette T.L., Gruner J., Schroll R., Mooney J., Stuke L., Marr A.B., Hunt J.P., and Duchesne J.C. It’s all about compliance: Proportional Assist Ventilation helps predict liberation from mechanical ventilation in surgical ICU patients. 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery. San Francisco, CA. September 18, 2013. Poster presentation.
• Melvan J.N., Forrette T.L., Gruner J., Schroll R., Mooney J., Stuke L., Marr A.B., Hunt J.P., and Greiffenstein P. Proportional Assist Ventilation versus Pressure Support for Spontaneous Breathing Trials; A Mechanistic Study. 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery. San Francisco, CA. September 18, 2013. Poster presentation.