Ngoc-Quynh Chu, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Charleston, SCNPI 1457770786
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 92.3% of the total across 17 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. It is spread thinly across 11 manufacturers, the largest accounting for just 15.9% — the pattern of someone who eats at a lot of different presentations. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in SC, where the typical reported total is $5,278.
Across 17 payments — averaging $104.13 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$282
- Atricure, Inc.$224
- Johnson & Johnson$198
- LSI Solutions Inc$196
- Lexington Medical, Inc.$189
- Edwards Lifesciences$186
- plus $495 from 5 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$1,63392%
- Education$1378%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 2 | $282 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 2 | $224 |
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 3 | $198 |
| LSI Solutions Inc | 2 | $196 |
| Lexington Medical, Inc. | 1 | $189 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $186 |
| Silk Road Medical, Inc. | 1 | $146 |
| Smith+Nephew | 1 | $141 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 2 | $116 |
| Bolton Medical Inc | 1 | $54 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $37 |
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.
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System$293
- Echelon Flex$282
- ATRICURE CRYOICE CRYOABLATION SYSTEM (CRYO2)$189
- Aeon Endostapler & Echelon Flex Powered Stapler$189
- Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Heart Valve$186
- ENROUTE Transcarotid Stent$146
- ENROUTE Enflate Transcarotid RX Balloon Dilatation Catheter$146
- PICO$141
- COR KNOT$125
How this compares
$1,770 in reported general payments places this provider in the 20th percentile of 83 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in South Carolina.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in South Carolina →
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 Charleston
- Curtis QuinnCharleston$374K
- Marc KatzCharleston$265K
- Arman KilicCharleston$170K
- Barry GibneyCharleston$39K
- Jacob KlapperCharleston$38K
- Kathryn EngelhartdtCharleston$33K
- Sanford ZeiglerCharleston$30K
- Elizabeth KlineCharleston$16K
- Alexander SbrocchiCharleston$14K
- Scott RossCharleston$12K
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.