Karen Nelson, DO
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Bowling Green, KYNPI 1285848119
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (38.7%), other and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 18 manufacturers reported payments, led by Angiodynamics, Inc. at 59.4% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2024 at $5,980 and has fallen 61.7% since, to $2,289 in 2025.
Across 81 payments — averaging $232.73 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Angiodynamics, Inc.$11K
- Intuitive Surgical$4K
- Atricure, Inc.$2K
- Abbott$769
- Medtronic$465
- Abiomed$213
- plus $861 from 12 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,58014%
- Food & beverage$2,57014%
- Education$7,30039%
- Other$6,40034%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 7 | $11,200 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 7 | $3,575 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 14 | $1,767 |
| Abbott | 8 | $769 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 19 | $465 |
| Abiomed | 6 | $213 |
| Skeletal Dynamics Inc | 2 | $152 |
| Stryker | 3 | $135 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 3 | $103 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $98 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $96 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $96 |
| Heartflow, Inc. | 3 | $50 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1 | $41 |
| Haemonetics Corporation | 1 | $29 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 2 | $26 |
| Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. | 1 | $22 |
| Alpha Orthopedic Systems | 1 | $15 |
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.
- VenaCure 1470 Pro$8,000
- EVLT$3,200
- DAVINCI XI$2,500
- ATRICLIP LAA EXCLUSION SYSTEM$1,077
- Da Vinci Surgical System$1,031
- EPI-SENSE GUIDED COAGULATION SYSTEM WITH VISITRAX$797
- MitraClip$681
- SYNERGY ABLATION SYSTEM$302
- COREVALVE EVOLUT R$186
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOSPHERE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM$160
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM (CRYO2)$154
- Geminus$133
- Align$133
- IJS$133
- Implate$133
How this compares
$18,851 in reported general payments places this provider in the 80th percentile of 98 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Kentucky.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Kentucky →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 19 | $12,818 |
| Hydrocodone-AcetaminophenHydrocodone/Acetaminophen | 46 | $321 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 56 | $269 |
| Amiodarone Hcl | 26 | $246 |
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 72 | $226 |
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 38 | $166 |
| Carvedilol | 32 | $158 |
| Lisinopril | 19 | $108 |
| Potassium Chloride | 11 | $29 |
| Amlodipine Besylate | 15 | $26 |
| Sulfamethoxazole-TrimethoprimSulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim | 19 | $23 |
| Furosemide | 19 | $17 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Bowling Green
- Harry WarrenBowling Green$17K
- Rahul RajeevBowling Green$7K
- Steven PetersonLouisville$283K
- Mario Castillo-SangEdgewood$163K
- Edward CantuLexington$74K
- Mansi Shah-JadejaLexington$45K
- Anthony MozerOwensboro$43K
- Mark SlaughterLouisville$39K
- Michael KastenEdgewood$32K
- Alberto de HoyosLexington$32K
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.