Jacob Klapper, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Charleston, SCNPI 1013196989
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — speaking fees (42.1%), travel and lodging and education — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Intuitive Surgical accounts for 87.0% of it on its own, with 7 other manufacturers making up the rest. 2025 is the largest year on record at $14,107, 5.6 times the $2,498 reported in 2019. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in SC 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 82 payments — averaging $463.76 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$33K
- Xvivo Perfusion Inc.$2K
- Medtronic$2K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$905
- Johnson & Johnson$341
- Paragonix Technologies, Inc.$159
- plus $76 from 2 others
Across 3 payments — averaging $11,233 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.$34K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$1,0003%
- Speaking & faculty fees$16,00042%
- Grants$1,5144%
- Travel & lodging$8,73723%
- Food & beverage$2,7727%
- Education$8,00621%
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 | 64 | $33,099 |
| Xvivo Perfusion Inc. | 3 | $1,934 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $1,514 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 2 | $905 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 9 | $341 |
| Paragonix Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $159 |
| United Therapeutics Corporation | 1 | $72 |
| Endogastric Solutions, Inc | 1 | $4 |
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$29,580
- DA VINCI SP$2,500
- XVIVO Perfusion System (XPS)$1,934
- LINX Reflux Management System$905
- LUNGguard$159
- BaroGuard$159
How this compares
$38,028 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 83 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in South Carolina.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in South Carolina →
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 Charleston
- Curtis QuinnCharleston$374K
- Marc KatzCharleston$265K
- Arman KilicCharleston$170K
- Barry GibneyCharleston$39K
- Kathryn EngelhartdtCharleston$33K
- Sanford ZeiglerCharleston$30K
- Elizabeth KlineCharleston$16K
- Alexander SbrocchiCharleston$14K
- Scott RossCharleston$12K
- Sarah ChenCharleston$8K
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.