Tony Agpaoa
Filipino practitioner of psychic surgery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antonio C. Agpaoa (1939–1982) most well known as Tony Agpaoa was a Filipino practitioner of psychic surgery.[1]
He worked in Manila. It was alleged that Agpaoa could remove tissue from the body of patients without making an incision.[2] His centre in Baguio attracted "thousands of persons annually".[1] However, magicians and skeptics were convinced his feats were the result of conjuring tricks.[3][4]
In 1968, Agpaoa was arrested and charged with fraud in the United States for pretending to mend a bone in a patient's neck.[5] Instead of facing the charges, Agpaoa "skipped his $25,000 bail and fled back to the Philippines."[1]
According to the magician James Randi, "[i]n some cases, [Agpaoa] actually performed simple surgical services, removing cysts and draining infected areas; the rest, mostly very spectacular procedures in which his hands appeared to plunge into the body were the usual conjuring tricks."[1] American surgeon William A. Nolen has written "According to the A.M.A. he had separated hundreds of patients from their life savings and had cured no one."[6]
James Randi has noted that Agpaoa had his own appendix removed in a hospital in San Francisco, instead of visiting a psychic surgeon.[7] Agpaoa also took his son to the United States when in need of medical care, but his son did not survive.[1]
