Frans Vanwagenberg, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Huntsville, ALNPI 1982999728
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (55.0%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Edwards Lifesciences accounts for 79.5% of it on its own, with 31 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $28,876 and has fallen 58.0% since, to $12,116 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in AL 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 201 payments — averaging $337.52 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Edwards Lifesciences$54K
- Baxter Healthcare$4K
- Atricure, Inc.$2K
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$2K
- Intuitive Surgical$2K
- Abiomed$916
- plus $2K from 26 others
Across 4 payments — averaging $54,435 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.
- Atricure, Inc.$218K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$37,32955%
- Speaking & faculty fees$10,00015%
- Travel & lodging$8,70413%
- Food & beverage$8,65213%
- Education$3,1565%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Edwards Lifesciences | 79 | $53,926 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 13 | $3,946 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 23 | $2,488 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 10 | $2,271 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 11 | $1,828 |
| Abiomed | 14 | $916 |
| Abbott | 6 | $505 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 5 | $393 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 4 | $279 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 3 | $221 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 5 | $205 |
| Artivion, Inc. | 3 | $167 |
| Sanara Medtech Inc. | 1 | $142 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 3 | $59 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 3 | $53 |
| Surgical Specialties Corporation (US), Inc. (dba Corza Medical) | 1 | $49 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $36 |
| Nuwellis, Inc. | 1 | $35 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $33 |
| Olympus America Inc. | 2 | $33 |
| Potrero Medical, Inc. | 1 | $31 |
| Clearflow Inc. | 1 | $30 |
| Cook Biotech Incorporated | 1 | $27 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $27 |
| Elutia, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Prime Surgical, LLC | 1 | $21 |
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company | 1 | $16 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $15 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Medela LLC | 1 | $14 |
| Teleflex LLC | 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.
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$36,444
- GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$2,004
- TISSEEL$1,723
- FLOSEAL$1,656
- Da Vinci Surgical System$1,610
- SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM$1,174
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve$1,028
- ATRICURE ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION$767
- Impella$581
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOSPHERE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM$475
- SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA$280
- NAVITOR$267
- INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve$150
- COREVALVE EVOLUT R$148
- CellerateRx$142
- TREO ABDOMINAL STENT-GRAFT SYSTEM$139
- COSEAL$123
- STERNALOCK$118
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist Device$113
- ACC2 CARDIAC CRYOSURGICAL SYSTEM$109
How this compares
$67,841 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 68 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Alabama.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Alabama →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 21 | $13,032 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 43 | $748 |
| Midodrine Hcl | 11 | $462 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 70 | $428 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 98 | $252 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 23 | $171 |
| Famotidine | 26 | $167 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 20 | $165 |
| Potassium Chloride | 47 | $163 |
| Methocarbamol | 44 | $160 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 11 | $112 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 22 | $91 |
| Lisinopril | 18 | $72 |
| Pantoprazole Sodium | 18 | $72 |
| Furosemide | 47 | $36 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| PfizerEliquis | $27 | $13,03221 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 90th percentile of 68 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Alabama.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Huntsville
- Shaf HoldenHuntsville$32K
- Gregory ThomasHuntsville$16K
- Andres SamayoaHuntsville$12K
- Juan GallegosHuntsville$9K
- Richard ClayHuntsville$6K
- Thomas WashburnHuntsville$3K
- Kyle EudaileyBirmingham$184K
- Carlton RandlemanBirmingham$161K
- James DaviesBirmingham$99K
- Parvez SultanVestavia$81K
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.