David Sowden, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Fort Wayne, INNPI 1295727196
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by food and beverage: $3,133 of the $3,626 with a category attached, or 86.4%. 11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 57.9% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,210 and has fallen 64.1% since, to $434 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in IN, where the typical reported total is $4,642.
Across 87 payments — averaging $41.67 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Tactile Systems Technology Inc$586
- Abbott$324
- Endologix LLC$188
- Johnson & Johnson$114
- Pfizer$104
- plus $209 from 5 others
Across 9 payments — averaging $413.33 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.
- Endologix LLC$4K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$49214%
- Food & beverage$3,13386%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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) | 35 | $2,100 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 26 | $586 |
| Abbott | 4 | $324 |
| Endologix LLC | 2 | $188 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 6 | $114 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $104 |
| Bsn Medical Inc | 3 | $65 |
| Boston Scientific | 4 | $62 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 4 | $48 |
| Getinge USA Sales, LLC | 1 | $20 |
| Biocompatibles, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
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.
- VenaSeal$823
- ClosureFast$599
- Trifecta GT Tissue Heart Valve$148
- Epic$132
- Ovation$111
- FLEXITOUCH$109
- ACTITOUCH$109
- ENTRE$109
- ELIQUIS$104
- Flexitouch Plus$102
- Nimbl$102
How this compares
$3,626 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 127 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Indiana.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Indiana →
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.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Fort Wayne
- Joseph GreenleeFort Wayne$43K
- Douglas GrayFort Wayne$18K
- Hannah CopelandFort Wayne$16K
- Barton WilliamsFort Wayne$14K
- Robert RoetherFort Wayne$12K
- William DeschnerFort Wayne$9K
- Christopher GullettFort Wayne$7K
- Marc GerdischIndianapolis$1.4M
- Jason FrazierMunster$574K
- James KellyGranger$242K
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.