Robert McKenna
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Santa Monica, CANPI 1942210117
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
The money is spread across several categories — education (42.5%), consulting fees and food and beverage — rather than concentrated in one kind of arrangement. 24 manufacturers reported payments, led by Intuitive Surgical at 58.5% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $30,773 and has fallen 98.4% since, to $485 in 2023. Among thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in CA 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 210 payments — averaging $300.30 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Intuitive Surgical$37K
- Johnson & Johnson$11K
- Veran Medical Technologies, Inc.$7K
- Medical Device Business Services, Inc.$5K
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.$519
- Pinnacle Biologics, Inc$515
- plus $2K from 18 others
Across 6 payments — averaging $3777.33 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.
- Pneumrx, Inc$12K
- Veran Medical Technologies, Inc.$9K
- Ethicon Endo-surgery Inc.$3K
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$14,39923%
- Travel & lodging$8,36413%
- Food & beverage$13,49321%
- Education$26,79342%
- Gifts$140%
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 | 93 | $36,899 |
| Johnson & Johnson(3 entities) | 21 | $10,787 |
| Veran Medical Technologies, Inc. | 15 | $7,201 |
| Medical Device Business Services, Inc. | 1 | $5,250 |
| E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. | 15 | $519 |
| Pinnacle Biologics, Inc | 15 | $515 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 8 | $284 |
| Medtronic(2 entities) | 3 | $243 |
| Merck | 12 | $206 |
| Covidien LP | 4 | $196 |
| Pulmonx Corporation | 4 | $189 |
| BD | 1 | $143 |
| Medela LLC | 2 | $142 |
| KARL Storz Endoscopy-america | 3 | $138 |
| Davol Inc. | 2 | $90 |
| Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. | 2 | $48 |
| Chiesi USA, Inc. | 2 | $43 |
| Ethicon Endo-surgery Inc. | 1 | $40 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 1 | $32 |
| KCI USA, Inc. | 1 | $27 |
| Angiodynamics, Inc. | 1 | $24 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $22 |
| GSK | 1 | $12 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $11 |
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$32,017
- Spin$6,842
- Echelon Flex$5,250
- Enseal$5,250
- Harmonic$5,250
- DAVINCI XI$3,000
- ECHELON FLEX Stapler$1,590
- SPiN Thoracic Navigation System, 120V, 60Hz$177
- Signia$169
- PROGEL$143
- Monarch Platform$135
- OPDIVO$125
- HARMONIC Product Family$120
- N/A$113
- Pulmonx Endobronchial Valve EBV$106
How this compares
$63,062 in reported general payments places this provider in the 90th percentile of 546 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in California.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in California →
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Santa Monica
- Thomas FogartyPortola Valley$3.7M
- Steven GundryPalm Springs$1.6M
- Armin KiankhooySaint Helena$941K
- Ara KlijianMurrieta$916K
- Gregory FontanaThousand Oaks$875K
- Gansevoort DunningtonSaint Helena$764K
- Wilson TsaiWalnut Creek$680K
- Fernando FleischmanLos Angeles$608K
- Harmik SoukiasianLos Angeles$577K
- Ali KhoynezhadLong Beach$476K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.