Thomas Gaines
Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) · Knoxville, TNNPI 1447243068
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
Almost everything reported here is food and beverage — 97.1% of the total across 36 separate payments, which is the pattern of a clinician who attends manufacturer presentations rather than one with a consulting arrangement. 22 manufacturers reported payments, led by Johnson & Johnson at 24.8% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2019 at $141 and has fallen 75.4% since, to $35 in 2025. That places this record below the midpoint for thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) clinicians in TN, where the typical reported total is $4,482.
Across 36 payments — averaging $19.01 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Johnson & Johnson$170
- Atricure, Inc.$80
- Abbott$73
- Intuitive Surgical$32
- ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp)$29
- Getinge USA Sales, LLC$26
- plus $274 from 16 others
What the payments were for
- Food & beverage$66497%
- Education$203%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson(2 entities) | 8 | $170 |
| Atricure, Inc. | 4 | $80 |
| Abbott | 3 | $73 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 1 | $32 |
| ZOLL Services LLC (a/k/a ZOLL Lifecor Corp) | 2 | $29 |
| Getinge USA Sales, LLC | 1 | $26 |
| Baxter Healthcare | 2 | $25 |
| Zimmer Biomet | 1 | $21 |
| Artivion, Inc. | 1 | $20 |
| CSL Behring | 1 | $20 |
| Stryker | 1 | $19 |
| Applied Medical Technology Inc | 1 | $19 |
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company | 1 | $19 |
| Ambu Inc. | 1 | $18 |
| Boston Scientific | 1 | $17 |
| Kls-martin L.p. | 1 | $17 |
| BD | 1 | $16 |
| KCI USA, Inc. | 1 | $14 |
| Medtronic | 1 | $14 |
| Davol Inc. | 1 | $13 |
| Cook Medical LLC | 1 | $13 |
| Veran Medical Technologies, Inc. | 1 | $8 |
How this compares
$684 in reported general payments places this provider in the 20th percentile of 115 thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Tennessee.
See all thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) providers in Tennessee →
Other thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) in Knoxville
- Christian ProbstKnoxville$25K
- Sean JordanKnoxville$8K
- Raymond DieterKnoxville$8K
- Christina GlennKnoxville$7K
- David GrahamKnoxville$6K
- Kimberly LindenKnoxville$6K
- William McAlexanderKnoxville$5K
- Carlo Martinez TorresKnoxville$5K
- William WalkerKnoxville$4K
- Grayson WheatleyNashville$900K
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.