Robert Cerfolio, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · New York, NYNPI 1245272483
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (56.9%), speaking fees and consulting fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Intuitive Surgical accounts for 75.2% of it on its own, with 10 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $63,499 and has fallen 54.3% since, to $29,041 in 2025. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in NY 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 110 payments — averaging $878.21 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$73K
- Johnson & Johnson$16K
- Medela AG$4K
- Medela LLC$2K
- Conmed Corporation$716
- Baxter Healthcare$296
- plus $564 from 5 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$14,40015%
- Speaking & faculty fees$19,59020%
- Travel & lodging$5,2035%
- Food & beverage$2,4102%
- Education$55,00057%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Intuitive Surgical | 87 | $72,683 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 6 | $16,494 |
| Medela AG | 1 | $3,600 |
| Medela LLC | 1 | $2,250 |
| Conmed Corporation | 1 | $716 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 7 | $296 |
| Ambu Inc. | 2 | $262 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $134 |
| Edwards Lifesciences | 1 | $83 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 2 | $65 |
| Surgical Specialties Corporation (US), Inc. (dba Corza Medical) | 1 | $21 |
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.
- Da Vinci Surgical System$71,965
- SURGICEL NU-KNIT$10,800
- Thopaz$3,600
- Art. 101030215 Thopaz+ Chest Drainage$2,250
- AIRSEAL$716
- TAGRISSO$134
- PREVELEAK$123
How this compares
$96,603 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 383 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in New York.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in New York →
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 New York
- Aubrey GallowayNew York$5.7M
- Gilbert TangNew York$842K
- Michael ZervosNew York$811K
- Elias ZiasNew York$465K
- Isaac GeorgeNew York$395K
- Eugene GrossiNew York$350K
- Costas BizekisNew York$321K
- Brendon StilesNew York$314K
- Daniela MolenaNew York$221K
- Arnar GeirssonNew York$218K
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.