Melhem Sharafuddin, MD
Vascular Surgery · Colorado Springs, CONPI 1326118332
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — consulting fees (59.5%), speaking fees and travel and lodging — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. accounts for 60.7% of it on its own, with 9 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $14,541 and has fallen 63.9% since, to $5,256 in 2025. Among vascular surgery clinicians in CO with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 10% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 85 payments — averaging $541.71 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$28K
- Bolton Medical Inc$14K
- Alphatec Spine, Inc$2K
- Terumo Medical Corporation$800
- Shockwave Medical, Inc$591
- Cook Medical LLC$292
- plus $517 from 4 others
Across 219 payments — averaging $6387.72 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.
- Bolton Medical Inc$480K
- Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.$202K
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$154K
- Contego Medical, Inc$137K
- Medtronic$129K
- Veryan Medical Incorporated$123K
- plus $173K from 8 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$27,39159%
- Speaking & faculty fees$9,65021%
- Travel & lodging$5,40312%
- Food & beverage$3,6018%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 41 | $27,962 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 22 | $14,338 |
| Alphatec Spine, Inc | 7 | $1,546 |
| Terumo Medical Corporation | 1 | $800 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 5 | $591 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 3 | $292 |
| Endologix LLC | 2 | $254 |
| Abbott | 1 | $150 |
| Shape Memory Medical Inc. | 2 | $68 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $45 |
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.
- Product in Development$23,709
- Relay Grafts$7,996
- TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$2,464
- TREO ABDOMINAL STENT-GRAFT SYSTEM$2,204
- Relay Plus$2,000
- RELAY THORACIC STENT-GRAFT WITH PLUS DELIVERY SYSTEM$1,861
- Other - Miscellaneous$1,468
- GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis$882
- ANGIO-SEAL$800
- Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter$468
- JETI$150
- Torus Stent Graft System$116
- ENDOCROSS Device$116
How this compares
$46,046 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 66 vascular surgery providers in Colorado.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ClopidogrelClopidogrel Bisulfate | 34 | $273 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other vascular surgery in Colorado Springs
- William FryColorado Springs$28K
- Magdiel Trinidad HernandezColorado Springs$18K
- Carlos RuedaColorado Springs$13K
- David FeuerColorado Springs$12K
- Karl DittrichColorado Springs$10K
- David CorryColorado Springs$10K
- Gregory CarlsonColorado Springs$5K
- John ConnColorado Springs$4K
- Danielle SmithColorado Springs$4K
- Laura KissellColorado Springs$2K
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.