James Butler, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine · Slidell, LANPI 1609960541
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
19 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 40.7% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $1,556 and has fallen 74.3% since, to $400 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for orthopaedic surgery of the spine clinicians in LA, where the typical reported total is $12,239.
Across 175 payments — averaging $37.49 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$3K
- Stryker$2K
- Si-bone, Inc.$854
- Spineology Inc.$675
- Smith+Nephew$174
- Alphatec Spine, Inc$159
- plus $414 from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,83943%
- Food & beverage$3,72257%
Most of this is food and beverage — typically meals provided during product presentations at a clinic or hospital. Nationally that is the single largest category of reported payments by count.
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) | 116 | $2,667 |
| Stryker | 28 | $1,619 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 9 | $854 |
| Spineology Inc. | 1 | $675 |
| Smith+Nephew | 3 | $174 |
| Alphatec Spine, Inc | 1 | $159 |
| Highridge Medical LLC | 1 | $86 |
| Amgen | 4 | $60 |
| Omnilife Science, Inc | 1 | $55 |
| Biom'up France SAS | 1 | $46 |
| Mallinckrodt Hospital Products Inc. | 2 | $28 |
| Sanara Medtech Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Convatec Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Globus Medical | 1 | $19 |
| Pacira Therapeutics, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Pacira Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | 1 | $17 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 1 | $15 |
| Spine Wave, Inc. | 1 | $15 |
| Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC | 1 | $11 |
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.
- iFuse Implant$706
- OptiMesh Interbody Fusion System$675
- CLYDESDALE PTC SPINAL SYSTEM$614
- MAKO$505
- SPINEJACK$219
- Other - Miscellaneous$159
- O-ARM$147
- CD HORIZON$136
How this compares
$6,561 in reported general payments places this provider in the 40th percentile of 29 orthopaedic surgery of the spine providers in Louisiana.
See all orthopaedic surgery of the spine providers in Louisiana →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 58 | $691 |
| Diclofenac Potassium | 35 | $564 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 67 | $468 |
| Tizanidine Hcl | 50 | $443 |
| Gabapentin | 54 | $408 |
| Methocarbamol | 24 | $255 |
| Meloxicam | 87 | $220 |
| Pregabalin | 21 | $197 |
| Ibuprofen | 17 | $130 |
| Methylprednisolone | 14 | $99 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 32 | $98 |
| Cyclobenzaprine Hcl | 24 | $87 |
| Naproxen | 12 | $80 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery of the spine in Slidell
- Mathew CyriacNew Orleans$368K
- Joseph ZavatskyMetairie$205K
- Lon BaronneLafayette$190K
- Alexis WaguespackMetairie$63K
- Charles YuNew Orleans$52K
- Stephen HogeShreveport$48K
- William AccoustiNew Orleans$46K
- Amit BhandutiaNew Orleans$39K
- Milan ModyShreveport$33K
- Christopher CenacHouma$33K
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.