Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician providers in the U.S.
6,361 NPPES records list thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) physician as their primary taxonomy, about 1.9 per 100,000 residents; District of Columbia and Massachusetts have the most per resident. 2,587 of them appear in the Medicare Part D prescriber file: a registry record is not proof of an active practice.
What taxonomy code 208G00000X means
208G00000X is the National Uniform Claim Committee code for Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery), in the grouping Allopathic & Osteopathic Physicians. 6,361 NPPES records list it as their primary taxonomy (file of Aug 9, 2026).
A thoracic surgeon provides the operative, perioperative and critical care of patients with pathologic conditions within the chest. Included is the surgical care of coronary artery disease, cancers of the lung, esophagus and chest wall, abnormalities of the trachea, abnormalities of the great vessels and heart valves, congenital anomalies, tumors of the mediastinum and diseases of the diaphragm. The management of the airway and injuries of the chest is within the scope of the specialty.
Source: NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy code set, definition as NUCC publishes it (nucc.org); counts from CMS NPPES.
Most per resident: the 8 highest
Source: CMS NPPES, primary taxonomy 208G00000X by practice state, file of Aug 9, 2026; records per 100,000 residents, 2023 Census estimates.
New York has the most, 170
Source: CMS NPPES, primary taxonomy 208G00000X by practice city, file of Aug 9, 2026.
All 51 by state
| State | Records | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 75 | 1.5 |
| Alaska | 7 | 1.0 |
| Arizona | 123 | 1.7 |
| Arkansas | 55 | 1.8 |
| California | 634 | 1.6 |
| Colorado | 87 | 1.5 |
| Connecticut | 79 | 2.2 |
| Delaware | 28 | 2.7 |
| District of Columbia | 30 | 4.4 |
| Florida | 468 | 2.1 |
| Georgia | 155 | 1.4 |
| Hawaii | 19 | 1.3 |
| Idaho | 24 | 1.2 |
| Illinois | 265 | 2.1 |
| Indiana | 136 | 2.0 |
| Iowa | 53 | 1.7 |
| Kansas | 52 | 1.8 |
| Kentucky | 109 | 2.4 |
| Louisiana | 87 | 1.9 |
| Maine | 25 | 1.8 |
| Maryland | 92 | 1.5 |
| Massachusetts | 228 | 3.3 |
| Michigan | 208 | 2.1 |
| Minnesota | 163 | 2.8 |
| Mississippi | 48 | 1.6 |
| Missouri | 143 | 2.3 |
| State | Records | Per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Montana | 23 | 2.0 |
| Nebraska | 35 | 1.8 |
| Nevada | 46 | 1.4 |
| New Hampshire | 29 | 2.1 |
| New Jersey | 156 | 1.7 |
| New Mexico | 20 | 0.9 |
| New York | 446 | 2.3 |
| North Carolina | 157 | 1.4 |
| North Dakota | 18 | 2.3 |
| Ohio | 310 | 2.6 |
| Oklahoma | 51 | 1.3 |
| Oregon | 67 | 1.6 |
| Pennsylvania | 377 | 2.9 |
| Rhode Island | 18 | 1.6 |
| South Carolina | 97 | 1.8 |
| South Dakota | 15 | 1.6 |
| Tennessee | 131 | 1.8 |
| Texas | 484 | 1.6 |
| Utah | 50 | 1.5 |
| Vermont | 8 | 1.2 |
| Virginia | 133 | 1.5 |
| Washington | 120 | 1.5 |
| West Virginia | 36 | 2.0 |
| Wisconsin | 115 | 1.9 |
| Wyoming | 6 | 1.0 |
In federal data
- NUCC code208G00000X · Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery)
- Size rank122nd of 688 specialties by records (0.09% of all)
- Part D prescribers2,587 (40.7% of records)
- Part D claims101 a year per prescriber, on average (346th of 496)
- Industry payments4,047 physicians paid $31.7M in 2024, $8K each on average
- Concentration8 states hold half of all records
Source: CMS NPPES; Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF; CMS Open Payments 2024. Presence in these files is not a quality judgment.
A sample of thoracic surgery (cardiothoracic vascular surgery) physician records
- Kerry Tintzman, ANPAnchorage, AK1235114000
- Pedro Valdes, MDAnchorage, AK1053396838
- Steven Bailey, MDAnchorage, AK1023084605
- Anthony Furnary, MDAnchorage, AK1407812555
- Kenton Stephens, MDAnchorage, AK1700801131
- John Dugal, MDAnchorage, AK1851482665
- William Curtis, MDAnchorage, AK1215090527
- Carl GeraldsonAlabaster, AL1659767671
- Carlton Randleman, MDBirmingham, AL1487693982
- Lee Riggins, M.D.Birmingham, AL1659381291
- Andrew Papoy, MDBirmingham, AL1568805505
- James West, M.D.Birmingham, AL1679009302
- Hurley Knott, M.D.Birmingham, AL1073766309
- Clifton Lewis, M.D.Birmingham, AL1639173271
- Douglas Minnich, MDBirmingham, AL1730162041
- James DaviesBirmingham, AL1629056544
Registry order, not a ranking. Search by name to find one provider.
Common questions
Where does the large Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician headcount concentrate?
6,361 Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician NPIs span 52 states; California alone holds 634. Top metros include New York, NY; Houston, TX; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL. Nationally this is 122nd of 688 NUCC codes.
How large is Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician's Open Payments footprint?
CMS Open Payments 2024 lists 4,047 Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician physicians totaling $31.7M (71,611 payments; average $8K, 52nd of 470). Presence in Open Payments is not a quality judgment.
How heavy is Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician Part D prescribing at scale?
Among Thoracic Surgery (Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery) Physician NPIs, 2,587 appear in the Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF (average 101 claims and $7K drug cost per prescriber; 346th of 496 specialties by average claims). Non-prescribing clinicians in the same NUCC code are still in NPPES.
Source: CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), file of Aug 9, 2026 (NPPES files on CMS.gov); NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy (nucc.org); Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF; CMS Open Payments 2024. Counts are self-designated primary taxonomy, not board certification.
Figures on PlainDoctor are read from the federal files each page names (CMS NPPES, Medicare Part D, MIPS, Open Payments; the HHS-OIG exclusion list only as counts) and from Census population estimates, with the file date shown beside them. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of Aug 9, 2026.