Gabriel Aldea, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Seattle, WANPI 1952480758
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (51.5%), food and beverage and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Medtronic accounts for 67.8% of it on its own, with 3 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,398 and has fallen 95.2% since, to $67 in 2024. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in WA, where the typical reported total is $4,673.
Across 22 payments — averaging $99.24 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$1K
- Edwards Lifesciences$499
- Abbott$174
- Boston Scientific$29
Across 12 payments — averaging $6481.60 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.
- Medtronic$78K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,12552%
- Travel & lodging$191%
- Food & beverage$65030%
- Education$38918%
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) | 5 | $1,481 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 9 | $499 |
| Abbott | 7 | $174 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $29 |
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.
- Avalus$206
How this compares
$2,183 in reported general payments places this provider in the 30th percentile of 105 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Washington.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Washington →
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 Seattle
- Glenn BarnhartSeattle$577K
- Eric VallieresSeattle$202K
- Eric LehrSeattle$72K
- Thomas VargheseSeattle$22K
- Shakirat OyetunjiSeattle$21K
- Christopher BurkeSeattle$19K
- Mohamed EldeirySeattle$17K
- Ioannis John DemarakosSeattle$15K
- Peter WhiteSeattle$15K
- Joel SternbachSeattle$13K
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.