Device Sutures

Prolene

Payments companies reported to CMS as associated with Prolene. "Associated with" is CMS's wording: it links a payment to a product without saying the money was spent on it.

$846Kassociated payments (2023-2025)

1,570clinicians with associated payments

6companies reporting

By year

2023 $142K

2024 $290K

2025 $414K

Payments reported as associated with Prolene, per program year, as reported to CMS.

Who makes it

Specialties most often involved

Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) $551K

Transplant Surgery $99K

Surgical $63K

Vascular Surgery $48K

Adult Reconstructive Orthopaedic Surgery $20K

Obstetrics & Gynecology $14K

Where the associated payments went, by the receiving clinician's specialty.

Clinicians most associated with Prolene

These are the largest totals companies reported as associated with Prolene. They are typically speaking or consulting arrangements, which companies must report by law; appearing here is not evidence of anything improper.

Clinician	Location	Specialty	Associated payments (2023-2025)
Arthur Martella	Rochester, NY	Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery)	$263,105.71
Jason Wellen	Saint Louis, MO	Transplant Surgery	$97,490.03
Bo Yang	Ann Arbor, MI	Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery)	$84,532.50
Michael Berke	Atlanta, GA	Surgical	$47,697.50
Kourosh Asgarian	Neptune, NJ	Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery)	$34,877.40
Sagar Gandhi	Greenville, SC	Vascular Surgery	$33,433.95
Elias Zias	New York, NY	Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery)	$31,720.00
Bob Kiaii	Sacramento, CA	Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery)	$28,191.83
Jorge Salazar	Houston, TX	Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery)	$24,014.89
Joel Wells	Dallas, TX	Adult Reconstructive Orthopaedic Surgery	$19,628.03

Prescribed Prolene?

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What this means, and what it doesn't

These payments are legal and common. Drug and device makers routinely pay for meals at educational events, consulting, speaking, travel, and research. Companies are required by federal law to report them; that's why this data exists.
A payment is not evidence of wrongdoing. Most clinicians who accept industry payments provide excellent care. Research payments in particular often reflect participation in clinical trials.
Context beats raw numbers. A few hundred dollars in sandwiches over several years is typical. What's worth understanding is scale, source, and purpose, which is what this page shows.
The data comes from companies, not doctors. Figures are "as reported to CMS" by the paying companies. Clinicians can dispute records through CMS's official process.

Source: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019-2025, as reported to CMS by drug and device makers (published June 30, 2026). Drug and device detail covers 2023-2025.