Orthopedic Surgeon Gives Insight Into PacMan's Predicament

Following interviews on ABS-CBN's "Umagang Kay Ganda" with Anthony Taberna and on Bombo Radyo with Dr. Tony Leachon, on the topic of boxing superstar and "Pambansang Kamao" Manny Pacquiao, Orthopedic Surgeon Iggy Agbayani, M.D. had this insight posted on his Facebook wall:

Manny's sports medicine woes have been around since the early part of his career and I dare say caused him his two early losses as a professional to Torrecampo and the Thai boxer, 3k Battery. In both losses he struggled to make weight because his handlers failed to take into account his natural weight gain hence he was fighting too hungry or too thin for his own good. Back then I sent an email to Quinito Henson on why I thought the lack of scientific and objective assessment of Manny Pacquiao's physical status was causing him unnecessary losses. If I remember right he published it in his column. Today after hearing all the news about Manny's shoulder injury it seems to me nothing much has changed except the proportion of money involved. This is all in hindsight but a good sports doctor's job is to be objective and to be as close as possible to the actual risks involved. If Manny did have an injured rotator cuff two or even three weeks before a big fight, even if it was determined on the MRI to be small, I would have made an official advice to delay the match for at least 3 months and even do an arthroscopic surgery to determine the real size and extent of the injury with the option to repair the tear arthroscopically. This is world class level boxing and nothing close to the best available options should have been used. MRI's are excellent tools but in no way is it the gold standard for determining cuff tear size. In the end it is protecting the interest of the boxer or patient and the fans.


Dr. Iggy Agbayani is a Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Co-Founder at Advanced Orthopedics for Joint Replacement.  He studied Arthoplasty and Arthroscopy at Flinders Medical Center in Australia and is one of the leading orthopedic surgeons involved in sports medicine.

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