Sarcoma Expert Joins Cancer Center’s Skin and Soft Tissue Team

Shaun Accardo, MD, provides expert cancer care for sarcomas

(Baton Rouge, La.) Gulf South patients with sarcomas, a dangerous, rare type of cancer that develops from bone and soft tissue, now have local access to expert diagnosis and treatment services for these diseases. Shaun Accardo, MD, an expert in adult and pediatric musculoskeletal oncology, is now a member of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s Skin and Soft Tissue Multidisciplinary Care (MDC) Team, adding a unique skill set to the group’s already vast array of specialties. Dr. Accardo’s specific clinical interests include benign and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors in adults and children, bone metastases, limb preservation/salvage surgery for bone and soft tissue tumors and complex orthopaedic trauma. “I am so pleased to be a part of the Skin and Soft Tissue Team and the Cancer Center’s collaborative, comprehensive approach to care,” said Dr. Accardo. “Along with my MDC team colleagues, I look forward to helping enhance outcomes and bringing advanced therapies to patients with sarcomas and other bone and muscle diseases.” After completing an orthopaedic surgery residency at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, Dr. Accardo was further trained in musculoskeletal oncology at the renowned Moffitt Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, in Tampa, Florida.  He was also granted and completed an international traveling fellowship in both musculoskeletal oncology and orthopaedic trauma at Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, U.K; University of Padova, Padova, Italy; and Lindenhofspital, Bern, Switzerland. “Dr. Accardo is an excellent addition to our Skin and Soft Tissue Multidisciplinary Care Team, and his expertise in sarcomas and exemplary educational background will be an asset to patients throughout the region who are fighting these diseases,” said John Lyons, MD, chair of the Cancer Center’s Skin and Soft Tissue MDC Team. “He is one of only a few orthopaedic oncologists in the state, so bringing this specialty to the local area will be of huge benefit to patients throughout the Gulf South.” The Cancer Center’s Skin and Soft Tissue Multidisciplinary Care Team includes physician specialists in cancer care, collaborating on best practice prevention and treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Team members include surgical, medical and radiation oncologists, dermatologists, pathologists and other experts. Throughout the year, the team plays an active role in encouraging greater awareness and education by offering basic education on how adults and children can protect their skin.  The Skin and Soft Tissue MDC Team is one of the key attributes that makes the Cancer Center a premier destination for cancer care. Dr. Accardo recently joined the Baton Rouge Orthopaedic Clinic.  He is a member of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Louisiana Orthopaedic Association, International Society of Limb Salvage (candidate member), Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (candidate member) and AOTrauma. For more information on the Cancer Center’s Skin and Soft Tissue MDC, please visit mbpolol.org/skin. About Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center As a regional destination for cancer care, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center offers the most advance technology and services provided by a dedicated team of nationally-recognized oncology experts. The Cancer Center provides best-practice, comprehensive care at every stage of the cancer journey, including disease site-specific multidisciplinary care teams, a robust clinical research program, extensive supportive care services and is the only facility in the Gulf South with the revolutionary Leksell Gamma Knife®Icon™. As a nonprofit organization, donor generosity is essential to sustaining the mission of improving survivorship and lessening the burden of cancer for so many throughout Southeast Louisiana and beyond. For more information on the Cancer Center, and how you can become involved, please visit mbpolol.org.