Robert Guyton, MD
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Atlanta, GANPI 1124117924
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — travel and lodging (36.8%), consulting fees and speaking fees — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. Edwards Lifesciences accounts for 97.9% of it on its own, with 5 other manufacturers making up the rest. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $5,140 and has fallen 99.2% since, to $43 in 2023.
Across 40 payments — averaging $248.39 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Edwards Lifesciences$10K
- Getinge USA Sales, LLC$103
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$50
- Atricure, Inc.$21
- W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.$18
- Medtronic$18
Across 96 payments — averaging $13,442 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.
- Edwards Lifesciences$1.2M
- Medtronic$48K
- Boston Scientific$38K
- Abbott$18K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$2,73428%
- Speaking & faculty fees$2,48625%
- Travel & lodging$3,65937%
- Food & beverage$1,05711%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Edwards Lifesciences | 34 | $9,726 |
| Getinge USA Sales, LLC | 2 | $103 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 1 | $50 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $21 |
| W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $18 |
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
$9,935 in reported general payments places this provider in the 65th percentile of 144 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Georgia.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Georgia →
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Metoprolol Tartrate | 11 | $20 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Atlanta
- Manu SanchetiAtlanta$805K
- John PuskasAtlanta$332K
- Douglas MurphyAtlanta$254K
- Ezequiel MolinaAtlanta$215K
- Gaetano PaoneAtlanta$134K
- Michael HalkosAtlanta$102K
- Allan PickensAtlanta$87K
- Bradley LeshnowerAtlanta$63K
- Kimberly HolstAtlanta$52K
- William KeelingAtlanta$49K
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.