Melissa Blaker, DO
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Las Vegas, NVNPI 1831332394
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
11 manufacturers reported payments, led by Medtronic at 41.4% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $1,965, more than ten times the $135 reported in 2019. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in NV, where the typical reported total is $6,066.
Across 34 payments — averaging $129.40 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medtronic$2K
- Abiomed$1K
- Atricure, Inc.$353
- Edwards Lifesciences$313
- Kls-martin L.p.$148
- Abbott$135
- plus $181 from 5 others
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$2,49457%
- Food & beverage$1,90643%
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 | 16 | $1,820 |
| Abiomed | 2 | $1,450 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 5 | $353 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 3 | $313 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 2 | $148 |
| Abbott | 1 | $135 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 1 | $101 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $27 |
| Lemaitre Vascular, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| LSI Solutions Inc | 1 | $19 |
| Integra Lifesciences Corporation | 1 | $13 |
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.
How this compares
$4,400 in reported general payments places this provider in the 45th percentile of 41 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Nevada.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular 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.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Las Vegas
- Peter CaravellaLas Vegas$671K
- Chan ParkLas Vegas$85K
- Ashraf OsmanLas Vegas$54K
- Hazem AfifiLas Vegas$41K
- Nauman JahangirLas Vegas$38K
- Quynh FeikesLas Vegas$24K
- Timothy HamiltonLas Vegas$21K
- Rick BernsteinLas Vegas$16K
- Giovanni CiuffoLas Vegas$15K
- Serrie LicoLas Vegas$14K
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.