Ramiro Fernandez
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Houston, TXNPI 1073855284
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (59.0%), education and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 9 manufacturers reported payments, led by Transmedics, Inc. at 51.1% of the total. 2025 is the largest year on record at $3,362, more than ten times the $77 reported in 2019. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in TX, where the typical reported total is $5,866.
Across 15 payments — averaging $392.71 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Transmedics, Inc.$3K
- Intuitive Surgical$2K
- Paragonix Technologies, Inc.$297
- Davol Inc.$161
- Edwards Lifesciences$152
- Corcym Inc$122
- plus $164 from 3 others
Across 2 payments — averaging $29,208 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.
- Paragonix Technologies, Inc.$58K
What the payments were for
- Travel & lodging$3,47459%
- Food & beverage$91616%
- Education$1,50025%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Transmedics, Inc. | 2 | $3,013 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 4 | $1,982 |
| Paragonix Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $297 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $161 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $152 |
| Corcym Inc | 1 | $122 |
| Conmed Corporation | 1 | $77 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 2 | $49 |
| AbbVie | 2 | $38 |
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.
- ORGAN CARE SYSTEM$3,013
- DAVINCI XI$1,500
- Da Vinci Surgical System$443
- Progel Applicator Spray Tips$161
- Perceval$122
How this compares
$5,891 in reported general payments places this provider in the 50th percentile of 424 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Texas.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Texas →
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 Houston
- Michael ReardonHouston$713K
- Danny RamzyHouston$527K
- Randall WolfHouston$283K
- Min KimHouston$185K
- Marc MoonHouston$142K
- Ismael Salas de ArmasHouston$121K
- Shawn GrothHouston$110K
- Mahesh RamchandaniHouston$110K
- Gabriel LoorHouston$106K
- Mara AntonoffHouston$104K
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.