Christopher Nickele, MD
Neurological Surgery · Memphis, TNNPI 1285834630
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (51.3%), other and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 27 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 33.3% of the total.
Across 209 payments — averaging $216.55 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$15K
- Leica Microsystems Inc.$13K
- Stryker$8K
- Penumbra, Inc.$3K
- Microvention, Inc.$1K
- Imperative Care, Inc$980
- plus $4K from 21 others
Across 136 payments — averaging $1686.60 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.
- Penumbra, Inc.$122K
- Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.$55K
- Microvention, Inc.$42K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$10K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2,2505%
- Speaking & faculty fees$2220%
- Travel & lodging$23,20951%
- Food & beverage$9,22820%
- Other$10,35123%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 63 | $15,091 |
| Leica Microsystems Inc. | 3 | $12,995 |
| Stryker | 24 | $8,224 |
| Penumbra, Inc. | 16 | $3,315 |
| Microvention, Inc. | 15 | $1,022 |
| Imperative Care, Inc | 35 | $980 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 6 | $600 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 6 | $472 |
| Irras USA, Inc. | 3 | $336 |
| Ulrich Medical USA, Inc. | 5 | $331 |
| Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. | 4 | $259 |
| Balt USA, LLC | 2 | $237 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 7 | $213 |
| Medicrea USA, Corp. | 1 | $196 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 1 | $189 |
| Scientia Vascular | 2 | $182 |
| Route 92 Medical, Inc. | 1 | $166 |
| Abbott | 1 | $142 |
| Surgalign Spine Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $55 |
| Qapel Medical Inc | 2 | $52 |
| Orthofix Medical, Inc. | 3 | $50 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $37 |
| Mizuho America, Inc. | 2 | $35 |
| Asahi Intecc USA, Inc. | 1 | $34 |
| Aesculap, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Misonix Inc | 1 | $13 |
| Kerecis Limited | 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.
- N/A$38,985
- SURPASS EVOLVE$7,576
- Penumbra System$2,857
- SOLITAIRE X$1,310
- STEALTHSTATION S8 PLATFORM$1,109
- STENT$508
- Pipeline$428
- WEB Aneurysm Embolization System$398
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System$377
- WEB$359
- ZOOM 88-T LARGE DISTAL PLATFORM$230
- PASS-LP$196
- UNiD$196
- ENROUTE Enflate Transcarotid RX Balloon Dilatation Catheter$189
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Stent$189
- PULSERIDER$143
- TRUFILL$143
- ETERNA$142
- Artis Q$140
- Neuro Plating System$137
How this compares
$45,260 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 156 neurological surgery providers in Tennessee.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gabapentin | 26 | $332 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 37 | $235 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 16 | $107 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other neurological surgery in Memphis
- Kevin FoleyMemphis$162.4M
- Maurice SmithMemphis$4.4M
- Adam ArthurMemphis$1.9M
- Paul ParkMemphis$1.2M
- Daniel HoitMemphis$607K
- Jason GerrardMemphis$112K
- Earl JonesMemphis$59K
- Demi DawkinsMemphis$56K
- Isaac PomeraniecMemphis$56K
- Kyle SmithMemphis$48K
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.