Brett Gunter, MD
Neurological Surgery · West Columbia, SCNPI 1538261615
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (58.5%), education and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Orthofix Medical, Inc. accounts for 71.1% of it on its own, with 15 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2021 at $28,179 and has fallen 88.4% since, to $3,267 in 2025. Among neurological surgery clinicians in SC with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 111 payments — averaging $432.63 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Orthofix Medical, Inc.$34K
- Life Spine, Inc.$9K
- Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC$2K
- Medtronic$1K
- Abbott$533
- Centinel Spine, LLC$148
- plus $458 from 10 others
Across 12 payments — averaging $2451.21 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.
- Medtronic$29K
- Orthofix Medical, Inc.$544
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$28,09459%
- Travel & lodging$6,28713%
- Food & beverage$4,96410%
- Education$8,67818%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 44 | $34,142 |
| Life Spine, Inc. | 11 | $8,939 |
| Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC | 8 | $2,384 |
| Medtronic | 15 | $1,419 |
| Abbott | 11 | $533 |
| Centinel Spine, LLC | 1 | $148 |
| Bioventus LLC | 1 | $138 |
| Boston Scientific | 3 | $80 |
| Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 9 | $40 |
| Peerless Surgical Inc. | 1 | $38 |
| Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. | 2 | $34 |
| Stryker | 1 | $28 |
| Degen Medical, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Nevro Corp. | 1 | $25 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| Globus Medical | 1 | $24 |
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.
- ASCENT;ASCENT LE;FIREBIRD SFS;ICON SFS;SFS$28,094
- SIMpact$8,939
- M6-C Artificial Cervical Disc$4,196
- ACTIVL$2,259
- M6-C$1,215
- INTELLIS ADAPTIVESTIM$287
- MAZOR X SYSTEM$236
- STEALTHSTATION S8 PLATFORM$189
- KYPHON EXPRESS II KYPHOPAK TRAY$174
- NEWBRIDGE$172
- GRUVE ANTERIOR CERVICAL PLATE System$160
- ETERNA$158
- 3-Degrees Anterior Cervical Plating (ACP) System$155
- Cervical-Stim Osteogenesis Stimulator$155
- Hallmark Anterior Cervical Plate (ACP) System$155
- LONESTAR Cervical Stand Alone (CSA)$155
- Reliant Anterior Cervical Plating (ACP) System$155
- PRODISC C VIVO$148
- Proclaim IPG$147
- ASCENDA$142
How this compares
$48,022 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 114 neurological surgery providers in South Carolina.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 93 | $974 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 33 | $205 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 19 | $170 |
| Gabapentin | 12 | $113 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 18 | $58 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in West Columbia
- Troy DawleyWest Columbia$15K
- Charles ToussaintWest Columbia$3K
- Alejandro SpiottaCharleston$894K
- David JonesRock Hill$540K
- Sabino DagostinoLadson$425K
- Jan Vargas MachajGreenville$207K
- Michael CowanRock Hill$184K
- Jonathan LenaCharleston$110K
- Adam BackSpartanburg$99K
- Matthew NealCharleston$65K
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.