Accepting new patients

John T. Vetto, M.D., FACS, FASA

Accepting new patients

  • Professor of Surgery
  • Professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, School of Medicine
  • Professor of Dermatology, School of Medicine

Specialty

  • Cancer

Clinical focus

  • Breast Cancer
  • Melanoma
  • Sarcoma
  • Skin Cancers
  • Surgical Oncology

Locations and contact

I see patients at
Modern building on a clear day with the tram in the background.
Center for Health & Healing, Building 2
503-494-8311
Read clinic details

About me

Dr. Vetto is a soft tissue Surgical Oncologist specializing in melanoma, high risk skin cancer, breast cancer, and sarcomas. He founded the OHSU multidisciplinary breast cancer and clinical melanoma program and is a member of the OHSU multidisciplinary sarcoma team. Dr. Vetto has published extensively on these topics and performed clinical and basic research in cancer areas. He enjoys studying and learning about advances in cancer care so that he can relate that information to colleagues and patients with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes and relieving suffering from cancer.

Outside of work Dr. Vetto enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, travel, visiting with his and his wife's family in Spain and Italy, working out, and watching old movies.

Languages spoken

  • English

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.S., 1978, Portland State University
    • M.D., 1982, Oregon Health & Science University

  • Residency

    • General Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 1982-1984
    • General Surgery, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 1986-1989

  • Fellowship

    • Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, 1984-1986
    • Surgical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 1989-1991

  • Certifications

    • American Board of Surgery, 1991; recertified 2000, 2009

Memberships and associations:

  • Alpha Omega Alpha (Alpha of Oregon)
  • Oregon Medical Association
  • Multnomah County Medical Society
  • Portland Surgical Society
  • Oregon Chapter, American College of Surgeons
  • North Pacific Surgical Association
  • Pacific Coast Surgical Association
  • Fellow, American College of Surgeons
  • American Head and Neck Society
  • Society of Surgical Oncology
  • Association of Academic Surgeons
  • Southwest Oncology Group
  • Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
  • American Association for Cancer Education
  • American Association for Cancer Research
  • Longmire Surgical Society
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology
  • Western Surgical Association
  • Society for the immunotherapy of Cancer
  • Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration
  • Fellow, American Surgical Association
Read faculty profile

Insurance

Before scheduling an appointment

  1. Check your network. If you have health insurance,  call your company to find out if the OHSU Health location or provider you plan to visit is part of your network.
  2. Ask what you will pay. Your insurance company can tell you what your costs are likely to be.

If you schedule an appointment and your health insurance does not include OHSU Health, you may have to pay more than if you go to a provider in your insurance network. 

Visit our billing and insurance page for more information.

Ratings and reviews

Overall: 4.9 out of 5 (244 Ratings, 77 Reviews)

The patient ratings score is an average of all responses to the question "How likely would you be to recommend this provider to your family and friends (on a scale of 0 to 10)" on our nationally-recognized Press Ganey patient surveys.

  1. Dr. Vetto is a wonderful physician! He is kind, compassionate, very knowledgeable, and professional. I really appreciate that he provides information in a straight-forward manner, addresses my questions and concerns, and gives me the information I need to make informed decisions about my care. Dr. Vetto treats me with respect as a competent participant in my healthcare. I would highly recommend him to anyone who needs a surgical oncologist.

  2. Dr Vetto was exceptional. He was attentive, listened and provided myself and my daughter with so much information. He made me feel very comfortable and positive reassurance that made me feel confident that I was woth the roght provider.

  3. Went great, he was honest which is always what I expect, thank you.

  4. I was kept apprised of my state of health during the process, particularly after surgery and I had a good number of calls personally from Doctor Vetto himself explaining procedures and outcome.

  5. I have such high regard for Dr. Vetto! From the very beginning of my cancer journey, Dr. Vetto has been a great listener and guided me through all the various options on how to treat my particular cancer. . He has always been so very professional, always a great listener, and I just love his sense of humor:)! My husband and I are so thankful for him as he guided us through this journey.

  6. Everything about the whole hospital is absolutely amazing.

  7. Dr Vetto & staff are the best in my experience

  8. I always have a good experience with the doctors at OHSU

  9. Dr. Vetto is an experienced surgeon. Explanations clear and reassuring. His surgery performance went very well. I am recovering well.

  10. Very good

  11. Dr Vetto instills confidence and assurance which helps with my anxiety. Glad to see him smiling more during this visit. He is a kind and caring person and the best physician.

  12. John Vetto is a truly amazing person. So smart, competent, and caring!!

  13. Everything went fine

  14. I felt safe in his (their) hands

  15. Great conversation about my health and world topics

  16. I'm very grateful I was referred to Dr. Vetto for my surgery. He's calm and clear and since he was unworried, I was unworried.

  17. Dr. Vetto was excellent. He explained the whole process and followed up the next day with a visit to my room. He also called several days later to see how I was doing. He is highly recommend!

  18. The doctor is a professional in his field. I trusted him.

  19. I feel very confident being in Dr. Vetto's care and appreciate his patience and thoroughness in explaining things and answering questions.

  20. Super experience.

  21. Great!

  22. Dr Vetto is wonderful. Thank you.

  23. He was very interested in my recovery.

  24. Doctor Vetto is amazing.

  25. Dr Vetto is simply put the bestHe went up and beyond at this appointment and I couldn't be more grateful

  26. It was great

  27. Excellent

  28. Very knowledgeable.

  29. My experience was very professional. Dr. Vetto made his points clear about the entire process. It was a bit scary as I have been healthy all my life but I could not have hoped for a better group to look after my situation.

  30. Got the exam, went ok