Karen Nelson, DO
Orthopaedic Surgery · Las Vegas, NVNPI 1447660097
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (36.9%), education and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 19 manufacturers reported payments, led by Zimmer Biomet at 47.9% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $13,563, 3.4 times the $3,984 reported in 2019.
Across 158 payments — averaging $191.72 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Zimmer Biomet$15K
- Goode Surgical Inc$9K
- Stryker$2K
- Pinnacle, Inc$2K
- Arthrex$875
- Kerecis Limited$392
- plus $1K from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$11,16537%
- Travel & lodging$2,95810%
- Food & beverage$7,57925%
- Education$8,58928%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zimmer Biomet | 40 | $14,504 |
| Goode Surgical Inc | 44 | $8,860 |
| Stryker | 31 | $2,400 |
| Pinnacle, Inc | 4 | $1,916 |
| Arthrex | 10 | $875 |
| Kerecis Limited | 3 | $392 |
| Encore Medical, LP | 7 | $318 |
| Smith+Nephew | 2 | $172 |
| Innovation Technologies Inc | 1 | $155 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 2 | $144 |
| Zimvie Inc. | 4 | $143 |
| Linvatec Corporation | 1 | $123 |
| Abbott | 1 | $108 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | $81 |
| Osteocentric Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $28 |
| Bone Support Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| Acera Surgical, Inc. | 1 | $19 |
| Si-bone, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Bioventus LLC | 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.
- Kerecis SurgiClose$1,467
- T2$711
- ROSA$434
- Kerecis GraftGuide$367
- PELVIS II$322
- Persona$320
- ASNIS$272
- mymobility Platform$262
- PRO$233
- VARIAX$219
- TAPESTRY$164
- Irrisept$155
- PICO$148
- Stravix$148
- Grafix$148
- SURPASS EVOLVE$129
- BILAYER WOUND MATRIX (BWM)$125
- INTEGRA WOUND MATRIX (IWM)$125
- AMNIOEXCEL$125
- IDRT$125
How this compares
$30,291 in reported general payments places this provider in the 85th percentile of 135 orthopaedic surgery providers in Nevada.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Methocarbamol | 12 | $258 |
| Oxycodone-AcetaminophenOxycodone Hcl/Acetaminophen | 15 | $145 |
| Ibuprofen | 11 | $64 |
| Tramadol Hcl | 11 | $49 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other orthopaedic surgery in Las Vegas
- Mark BarryLas Vegas$9.5M
- Erik KubiakLas Vegas$7.8M
- Russell NevinsLas Vegas$1.5M
- Vladimir SinkovLas Vegas$434K
- Ronald HillockLas Vegas$275K
- Galen KamLas Vegas$270K
- Michael DaubsLas Vegas$215K
- John BaldaufLas Vegas$117K
- Brian CarrLas Vegas$91K
- Brandon RomeroLas Vegas$72K
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.