Eduardo Tovar, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Whittier, CANPI 1598766446
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (53.2%), food and beverage and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 10 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 39.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $2,127 and has fallen 77.6% since, to $476 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in CA, where the typical reported total is $4,430.
Across 48 payments — averaging $102.76 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Intuitive Surgical$711
- Abbott$678
- Atricure, Inc.$648
- Abiomed$544
- Stryker$156
- plus $253 from 4 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,62453%
- Food & beverage$2,29847%
- Education$110%
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 | 16 | $1,943 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 5 | $711 |
| Abbott | 5 | $678 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 8 | $648 |
| Abiomed | 5 | $544 |
| Stryker | 1 | $156 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $118 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 3 | $61 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $53 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 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.
How this compares
$4,933 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 546 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in California.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic 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.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Whittier
- Thomas FogartyPortola Valley$3.7M
- Steven GundryPalm Springs$1.6M
- Armin KiankhooySaint Helena$941K
- Ara KlijianMurrieta$916K
- Gregory FontanaThousand Oaks$875K
- Gansevoort DunningtonSaint Helena$764K
- Wilson TsaiWalnut Creek$680K
- Fernando FleischmanLos Angeles$608K
- Harmik SoukiasianLos Angeles$577K
- Ali KhoynezhadLong Beach$476K
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.