Gert Pretorius, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · San Diego, CANPI 1629385836
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by consulting fees: $90,300 of the $109,937 with a category attached, or 82.1%. Paragonix Technologies, Inc. accounts for 77.5% of it on its own, with 14 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $88,912 and has fallen 99.5% since, to $459 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in CA 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 86 payments — averaging $1278.34 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Paragonix Technologies, Inc.$85K
- Abbott$14K
- Transmedics, Inc.$4K
- Philips North America LLC$2K
- Abiomed$2K
- Xvivo Perfusion Inc.$767
- plus $2K from 9 others
Across 44 payments — averaging $14,204 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.
- Xvivo Perfusion Inc.$312K
- Transmedics, Inc.$274K
- Abbott$30K
- Medtronic$9K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$90,30082%
- Travel & lodging$13,49512%
- Food & beverage$6,1426%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Paragonix Technologies, Inc. | 7 | $85,224 |
| Abbott | 24 | $14,036 |
| Transmedics, Inc. | 3 | $4,276 |
| Philips North America LLC | 3 | $2,298 |
| Abiomed | 15 | $1,746 |
| Xvivo Perfusion Inc. | 3 | $767 |
| Medtronic | 12 | $759 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 5 | $221 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 6 | $175 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $118 |
| Impulse Dynamics (USA) Inc. | 1 | $108 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 3 | $99 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 1 | $50 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 1 | $37 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $23 |
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.
- SherpaCool Box$85,322
- Paragonix SherpaPak Cardiac Transport System$85,061
- CTS Canister Box$85,061
- HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Dev$8,534
- ORGAN CARE SYSTEM$4,276
- THORATEC HEARTMATE 3 LVAS IMPLANT KIT$4,001
- CVX-300$2,250
- Impella$1,510
- XVIVO Perfusion System (XPS)$767
- CARDIOMEMS$650
- HeartWare HVAD$545
- Quadra Assura CRT Defibrillator$355
- Shipper Box$261
- OPTIMIZER$216
- SherpaPak$163
- LIVERguard$163
- LUNGguard$163
- BaroGuard$163
- PancreasPak$163
- 2ND GEN CENTRIMAG PRIMARY CONSOLE$138
How this compares
$109,937 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th 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 San Diego
- James HempSan Diego$244K
- Mark OnaitisSan Diego$207K
- Robert AdamsonSan Diego$82K
- 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
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.