Agtarap L Anthony, MD

Over the course of 3 ½ years, I have received three arthroscopic knee reconstruction surgeries for torn ligaments. First two surgeries were performed by Dr. Anthony L. Agtarap. MRI images have indicated that the injury on my knee went beyond just an ACL tear, and I had significant lateral instability on my knee probably from a tear on my MCL.
In my first surgery, Dr. Agatarap replaced my ACL with one taken from a cadaver after I injured my knee in high school football. To be completely honest, even after my physical therapy was and almost a year has passed since the surgery, the stability on my knee did not return at all. I was a very physically-​active 18 year old at the time, and I tore my knee again the moment I attempted to play sports that required lateral movements. At the time of my second injury, I was only running to catch a football while wearing a heavy-​duty Breg Fusion knee brace that was prescribed to me.
Before my second surgery, I have explained to him the lateral instability on my knee that was probably a result from a tear on my MCL, and how easily I have injured since the first surgery. His solution was merely to use a larger cadaver to replace the ACL. Needless to say, just like the first surgery, I couldn’t even tell if anything was changed in my knee even after the physical therapy was completed and almost a year has passed since the second surgery date. Being even more careful than the first time, I attempted to shoot hoops by myself while wearing a heavy-​duty brace, to see how the knee performed. Within 30 minutes, the knee «slid» laterally and the ACL was torn again.
While Dr. Agatarap insisted on performing a similar third surgery, I was not willing to give him a third chance. I went to University of Washington Sports Medicine to see a different doctor, who apparently used to be Dr. Agatarap’s mentor while he was in medical school. Looking at the injury on my knee, he performed a much more elaborate surgery, replacing not only the ACL but MCL as well, and inserting pins to secure the instability and artificially creating scar tissues on various areas to stimulate recovery. It has been almost 3 years since my third surgery, and there has been no additional injury on my knee, despite the fact that I have been actively playing contact sports such as football or basketball. There was a world of difference in regards to the stability, after my physical therapy was completed.
At this point, I am convinced that Dr. Agatarap has botched his two surgeries with me, mainly because he neglected to listen to the patient and failed to appropriately treat my condition. To be completely frank, the first two surgeries made almost no improvements on my knee. The bottom line is that I will not recommend Dr Agtarap to anyone, especially if you lead an active lifestyle. Even if my knee didn’t feel fully stable, I had no choice but to try being active on it, as I was enrolled in a Reserve Officer Training Corp. No additional recovery could have been expected once the physical therapy was completed, and I needed to make the best out of my knee which clearly was not enough.
Thanks to Dr. Agtarap, my ROTC career was cut short and my full-​ride scholarship was rescinded. I can understand that the first surgery was probably appropriate for a first-​time injury, but the temerity of Dr. Agatarap has caused me to injure my knee for the third time.