Bernardo Curi Mendes, MD
Vascular Surgery · Los Angeles, CANPI 1760814891
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (32.9%), travel and lodging and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 16 manufacturers reported payments, led by Cook Incorporated at 45.3% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $52,903, more than ten times the $1,919 reported in 2019. Among vascular surgery clinicians in CA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 184 payments — averaging $411.36 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Cook Incorporated$34K
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$21K
- Medtronic$9K
- Cook Medical LLC$6K
- Artivion, Inc.$2K
- Bolton Medical Inc$848
- plus $2K from 10 others
Across 46 payments — averaging $7173.92 each. Payments tied to a research study. These frequently flow through the physician to a hospital or research institution rather than to the physician personally.
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$297K
- Cook Research Incorporated$30K
- Medtronic$3K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$24,93833%
- Speaking & faculty fees$17,82024%
- Grants$2170%
- Travel & lodging$22,56230%
- Food & beverage$10,15413%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Incorporated | 11 | $34,267 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 56 | $21,343 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 34 | $9,224 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 49 | $5,559 |
| Artivion, Inc. | 5 | $2,414 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 10 | $848 |
| Cook Research Incorporated | 3 | $625 |
| GE HealthCare | 4 | $353 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 1 | $279 |
| Shape Memory Medical Inc. | 2 | $193 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 2 | $173 |
| Balt USA, LLC | 2 | $151 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $104 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $93 |
| Centerline Biomedical Inc. | 1 | $45 |
| Inspiremd Ltd | 1 | $20 |
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.
- Zenith Alpha$20,250
- GORE TAG Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis$15,312
- GORE TAG Conformable Thoracic Stent Graft$14,469
- Zenith Spiral-Z$11,975
- Valiant Captivia$5,288
- GORE EXCLUDER Thoracoabdominal Branch Endoprosthesis$3,181
- Jotec Products$2,300
- ENDURANT IIS$1,932
- Cook Medical Aortic Intervention$1,189
- Endurant$794
- EXCLUDER Conformable AAA Endoprosthesis with Active Control$579
- Cook Medical AAA$570
- GORE EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis$382
- GORE EXCLUDER Iliac Branch Endoprosthesis$343
- Relay Plus$247
- Conformable TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$174
- EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis$163
- RELAY THORACIC STENT-GRAFT WITH PLUS DELIVERY SYSTEM$157
- THORAFLEX HYBRID$157
- TREO ABDOMINAL STENT-GRAFT SYSTEM$157
How this compares
$75,691 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 519 vascular 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 28 | $949 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 14 | $869 |
| Levothyroxine Sodium | 14 | $108 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other vascular surgery in Los Angeles
- Sukgu HanLos Angeles$477K
- Johnathon RolloLos Angeles$337K
- Gregory MageeLos Angeles$152K
- Rajeev RaoLos Angeles$107K
- Juan JimenezLos Angeles$91K
- Miguel ManzurLos Angeles$88K
- William Quinones-BaldrichLos Angeles$53K
- Sharon KiangLos Angeles$46K
- Fred WeaverLos Angeles$42K
- Donald BarilLos Angeles$38K
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.