Hector Flores, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · El Paso, TXNPI 1972784247
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (46.4%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Intuitive Surgical accounts for 91.3% of it on its own, with 11 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2023 at $35,654 and has fallen 97.5% since, to $889 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in TX with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 272 payments — averaging $467.85 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$116K
- Abiomed$3K
- Abbott$3K
- Medtronic$2K
- Atricure, Inc.$1K
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$424
- plus $983 from 6 others
What the payments were for
- Speaking & faculty fees$38,00030%
- Travel & lodging$20,30816%
- Food & beverage$9,8888%
- Education$59,05846%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 145 | $116,146 |
| Abiomed | 29 | $3,378 |
| Abbott | 23 | $2,634 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 31 | $2,442 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 17 | $1,248 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 10 | $424 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 6 | $415 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 5 | $191 |
| Cvrx, Inc. | 3 | $164 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $111 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $91 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $12 |
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.
- Da Vinci Surgical System$85,956
- DA VINCI SP$28,650
- Impella$2,351
- Mitra Clip system$1,784
- Octopus$1,478
- EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYS$445
- CoreValve Evolut$238
- GORE VIABAHN Endoprosthesis$154
- CARDIOMEMS$141
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve$130
- HawkOne$127
- ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM$122
- KENGREAL$119
- Valiant Captivia$117
- Monarch Platform$111
- MitraClip System$108
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve$106
- Barostim Neo System$105
How this compares
$127,254 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 424 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Texas.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Texas →
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 El Paso
- Faraz KerendiAustin$906K
- Robert HebelerDallas$723K
- Michael ReardonHouston$713K
- Danny RamzyHouston$527K
- Scott OlssonCypress$357K
- Randall WolfHouston$283K
- Gary JettPlano$277K
- Darien BradfordBurleson$266K
- William BrinkmanPlano$266K
- Brannon HydeAustin$214K
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.