George Pontikis, MD
Vascular Surgery · Naperville, ILNPI 1326314246
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (34.4%), consulting fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 21 manufacturers reported payments, led by Cook Incorporated at 48.2% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $15,681, more than ten times the $441 reported in 2019. Among vascular surgery clinicians in IL 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 249 payments — averaging $173.75 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Cook Incorporated$21K
- Medtronic$11K
- Cook Medical LLC$5K
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$4K
- Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.$959
- Silk Road Medical, Inc.$397
- plus $1K from 15 others
Across 4 payments — averaging $18,500 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$50K
- Cook Research Incorporated$24K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$13,09030%
- Speaking & faculty fees$14,88034%
- Travel & lodging$6,34415%
- Food & beverage$8,94921%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Incorporated | 11 | $20,853 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 38 | $11,492 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 86 | $4,811 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 56 | $3,501 |
| Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. | 25 | $959 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 5 | $397 |
| BD | 3 | $361 |
| Johnson & Johnson(3 entities) | 8 | $245 |
| Boston Scientific | 2 | $150 |
| Inari Medical, Inc. | 1 | $126 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 1 | $90 |
| Surmodics, Inc. | 3 | $53 |
| Lemaitre Vascular, Inc. | 2 | $38 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| Tactile Systems Technology Inc | 1 | $29 |
| Centerline Biomedical Inc. | 1 | $26 |
| Abbott | 1 | $25 |
| Pfizer | 1 | $24 |
| Imperative Care, Inc | 1 | $20 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 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.
- Zenith$11,504
- Zenith Alpha$9,597
- Valiant Captivia$8,114
- ENDURANT IIS$2,497
- Zenith Spiral-Z$1,939
- GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$1,754
- GORE EXCLUDER Thoracoabdominal Branch Endoprosthesis$638
- Zilver PTX$610
- RotarexS 6 F x 135 cm$335
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System$248
- GORE TAG Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis$161
- Endurant$141
- GORE EXCLUDER AAA Endoprosthesis$139
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Stent System$134
- ENHANCE Transcarotid Peripheral Access Kit$134
- ENROUTE 0.014 Guidewire$134
- LIMFLOW SYSTEM$126
- GENERAL VASCULAR INTERVENTION$123
- VenaSeal$122
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Stent$115
How this compares
$43,263 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 170 vascular surgery providers in Illinois.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 28 | $20,840 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 194 | $2,124 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 67 | $746 |
| Cilostazol | 21 | $289 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 13 | $173 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & JohnsonXarelto | $245 | $20,84028 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 170 vascular surgery providers in Illinois.
Other vascular surgery in Naperville
- Ross MilnerChicago$1.3M
- Sapan DesaiArlington Heights$1.2M
- Nabeel RanaPeoria$934K
- Atif BaqaiPark Ridge$567K
- Trissa BabrowskiChicago$292K
- Tejas ShahDowners Grove$213K
- Carlos BecharaMaywood$199K
- Dhiren PatelSpringfield$121K
- Heron RodriguezChicago$105K
- Michael SoultMaywood$104K
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.