Alexander Vlahu, MD
Adult Reconstructive Orthopaedic Surgery · la Jolla, CANPI 1699338194
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — food and beverage (39.0%), grants and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 13 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medical Device Business Services, Inc. at 37.7% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $4,741, more than ten times the $323 reported in 2019. That places this record below the midpoint for adult reconstructive orthopaedic surgery clinicians in CA, where the typical reported total is $9,645.
Across 65 payments — averaging $143.39 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$4K
- Smith+Nephew$3K
- Stryker$951
- Johnson & Johnson$680
- Zimmer Biomet$371
- Skeletal Dynamics Inc$221
- plus $574 from 7 others
What the payments were for
- Grants$3,00032%
- Travel & lodging$2,41926%
- Food & beverage$3,63239%
- Education$2693%
General payments by program year
Who reported the general payments
Companies are grouped under their corporate parent — a single manufacturer often files under several CMS reporting entities. Research and ownership payments are counted separately and are not in this table.
| Company | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 25 | $3,510 |
| Smith+Nephew | 3 | $3,012 |
| Stryker | 9 | $951 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 15 | $680 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 4 | $371 |
| Skeletal Dynamics Inc | 2 | $221 |
| Bioventus LLC | 1 | $139 |
| Encore Medical, LP | 1 | $139 |
| Vericel Corporation | 1 | $124 |
| Sanara Medtech Inc. | 1 | $68 |
| Heron Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $62 |
| Orthalign Inc | 1 | $29 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $13 |
What the payments were tied to
Products named in the reported payments. Only payments of $100 or more are attributed here — the typical reported payment nationally is a meal worth about $16, and listing those product-by-product would be noise.
How this compares
$9,320 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 136 adult reconstructive orthopaedic surgery providers in California.
See all adult reconstructive orthopaedic surgery providers in California →
Medicare billing
What this is not: this is the amount Original Medicare Part B allowed for services this provider billed in 2024. It is not their income. It excludes Medicare Advantage — now more than half of all Medicare enrollment — along with Medicaid and all commercial insurance, and it is gross practice revenue before staff, rent, supplies and malpractice premiums. CMS also suppresses any figure covering ten or fewer patients, so low-volume providers appear smaller than they are.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 12 | $5,061 |
| Celecoxib | 67 | $2,034 |
| Naloxone Hcl | 19 | $1,176 |
| Oxycodone Hcl | 139 | $1,018 |
| Cephalexin | 79 | $387 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 63 | $374 |
| Mupirocin | 49 | $361 |
| Dexamethasone | 84 | $271 |
| Methocarbamol | 27 | $227 |
| Gabapentin | 37 | $221 |
| Cefadroxil | 30 | $211 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 13 | $125 |
| Methylprednisolone | 15 | $98 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 22 | $38 |
| Amoxicillin | 16 | $22 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other adult reconstructive orthopaedic surgery in la Jolla
- William Bugbeela Jolla$2.1M
- William MaloneyStanford$11.1M
- James CaillouetteNewport Beach$4.8M
- William LongLos Angeles$2.8M
- John DearbornMenlo Park$2.5M
- James HuddlestonStanford$1.5M
- Alexander SahFremont$1.2M
- John DianaNapa$981K
- Thomas DonaldsonColton$893K
- Derek AmanatullahStanford$828K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Billing: Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, data year 2024. Original Medicare Part B only.
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.