Resect 4 brain mets in one go? A doc’s take on Teddi Mellencamp’s surgery

Teddi Mellencamp, legendary singer John Mellencamp's daughter, recently announced she underwent emergency brain surgery for metastatic melanoma. Originally, she shared that two tumors would be removed. But shortly after, she posted a pre-op selfie and an MRI on Instagram, revealing that her team had actually taken out four tumors.

That detail raised eyebrows, including from neurosurgeon Betsy Grunch, MD, who weighed in via Instagram Reel.

“You see the stick markers on her head?” Dr. Grunch said. “That’s what we place on patients undergoing brain surgery so we can use navigation to help locate these tumors.” She walks through the visible lesions in the MRI—one, two, three—and confirms the report that four tumors were removed.

Then she adds: “While I’ll admit, it’s pretty uncommon for someone with metastatic disease to have that many tumors removed at the same time, I trust her doctors made the right decision based on the location of those lesions.”

Still, Dr. Grunch points out that it’s unusual to remove that many tumors surgically in a metastatic case. The more typical approach? Remove one or two—if needed—and manage the rest with stereotactic radiosurgery. It’s a more conservative but widely accepted strategy, especially when the disease has already spread beyond the brain.

Maybe Mellencamp’s care team went aggressive to buy time before radiation and immunotherapy kicked in. Or maybe her tumor locations made this approach viable. Either way, it’s a reminder that CNS metastases management isn’t one-size-fits-all—and not every brain tumor is a surgical candidate, even if you can see it on MRI.

Because four resections in one go? That’s not something you see everyday.