DR. WORLDWIDE GETS SOCIAL
DR. WORLDWIDE GET TO KNOW HIM
Frank Agullo, MD, FACS — known globally as Dr. WorldWide — is a double board-certified plastic surgeon in El Paso, Texas. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Affiliate Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. Specializing in preservation-based aesthetic surgery and the Deep Plane Facelift, he has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for thirteen consecutive years and has a global social following of over 3.5 million across Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. He is the founder of Southwest Plastic Surgery and Plastic Surgery Studios.
Meet Dr.WWDR. WORLDWIDE GET TO KNOW HIM
Frank Agullo, MD, FACS is the plastic surgeon the world watches. Known globally as Dr. WorldWide, he has built one of the largest followings of any surgeon on the planet (over 3.5 million on Instagram @RealDrWorldWide) by pulling back the curtain on plastic surgery and showing what extraordinary results actually look like. Celebrities, influencers, and patients from across the United States and around the world make the trip to El Paso, Texas, because when you have seen the work up close, there is nowhere else to go. More than 80% of his patients travel from outside El Paso. The practice handles every detail of their journey.
Dr. Agullo is double board-certified, Mayo Clinic fellowship-trained, and a Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. But credentials only tell part of the story. What sets him apart is a philosophy built on preservation: enhancing, restoring, and elevating what is already there rather than changing who you are. Not cookie cutter. Every plan is molded around the individual patient's desires, their anatomy, their life.
That philosophy drives every decision in the operating room. His Motiva Preserve breast augmentations deliver results that feel as natural as they look. His deep plane and endoscopic deep plane facelifts turn back time without announcing themselves. His Supercharged BBL has been refined, published, and presented on international stages. And his ability to combine face and body procedures in a single operative session is a capability few surgeons in the world can offer safely at his level.
The same philosophy applies outside the OR. Forget synthetic fillers. Dr. Agullo restores volume with regenerative grafts including Alloclae, Lipoderma, exosomes, and platelet-derived growth factors. Recovery is treated as part of the result: lymphatic massages, scar management, and Elixir MD LED light therapy ensure that what happens after surgery is as intentional as what happens during it.
Castle Connolly Top Doctor for eleven consecutive years. Texas Super Doctors Hall of Fame. Best Plastic Surgeon in El Paso for thirteen consecutive years. Aesthetic Everything Top Plastic Surgeon 2026. Founding Vice President and President of the World Association of Gluteal Surgeons, where he helped write the global safety standards for gluteal surgery.
The results are daily. The standard is uncompromising. The philosophy is simple: #MakeItHappen. #HappyIsBeautiful. #StayBeautiful.
#PlasticSurgeryIsMyPassion
GLAMOUR SHOTS
Plastic Surgery is a very personal choice and a unique experience for every individual who chooses to undergo a change, be it a discreet or major surgery. The one thing in common for my patients though is that they experience an inner transformation which ultimately shines through as confidence in themselves. Confident is Beautiful!
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- Posted on: August 25th 2026
- Category: Body Contouring, Commentary
For years the consult was always the same direction: bigger. Lately a different patient sits down across from me. She had buttock implants or a large fat transfer a decade ago, and now she wants smaller, leaner, and natural. The pendulum is swinging, and reversing the work of 2015 is its own operation. Here is […]
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- Posted on: August 25th 2026
- Category: Body Contouring, Commentary
For years the consult was always the same direction: bigger. Lately a different patient sits down across from me. She had buttock implants or a large fat transfer a decade ago, and now she wants smaller, leaner, and natural.
The pendulum is swinging, and reversing the work of 2015 is its own operation. Here is how I answered one of these patients recently, in my own words.
Can It All Come Out?
Yes. The patient I am thinking of had 300 cc silicone implants placed inside the muscle ten years ago, then two Brazilian butt lifts adding about 1,100 cc of fat per side. Her goal was simple: much smaller, leaner, more natural looking. The plan combines implant removal, liposuction to reduce the transferred fat, and a lift to handle the loose skin left behind.
What Happens to the Muscle?
Less than people fear. When a surgeon places an intramuscular implant, the muscle is not really cut. It is spread apart to make a space. Remove the implant and the muscle simply comes back together. The only place I repair muscle is where I make the cut to take the implant out. Stitching the middle of the muscle accomplishes nothing; there is no fascia there, and sutures just rip through.
The Capsule Question
You take as much as you need to. A thick capsule comes out. A ruptured implant means the entire capsule comes out. Sometimes the capsule is so thin that chasing it only damages muscle, and sometimes there is barely a capsule at all. At the ten year mark, rupture or leaking would not change my plan. I clean everything out either way.
Will You Be Flat?
No. You keep projection, just less of it. Occasionally an implant is creating the shape in one specific spot, and removing it would leave a divot. When that happens, I save some of the fat and skin from the lift and flip it in to restore the volume. Smooth, round, natural, smaller. That is the assignment.
Why the Lift Rides Along
Take out an implant and a liter of fat per side and the skin needs somewhere to go. A buttock and lateral thigh lift removes the excess, tightens both the superficial layer and the deep fascial layer so it holds, and smooths the transition into the thigh. The incision is long, but it hides in clothing lines.
The Boring Safety Details That Matter
Drains stay until they are ready, about a week, and they are why seromas stay rare. Hematomas in the buttock are extremely rare; in more than a thousand buttock cases I have never seen one there, because the muscle’s blood supply essentially repairs itself within days. Surgery runs about four to four and a half hours under general anesthesia. You can sit and sleep on your back right away unless I add fat for small irregularities.
Many of these patients had their original surgery abroad. What matters now is where the removal happens: an accredited facility. My surgery center is Quad A accredited, the same standard as a hospital, with pre-op labs and an EKG on everyone.
I put the full patient Q&A, including recovery timelines and out-of-town planning, on the practice site.
Ready to Talk?
Call my office at (915) 590-7900, text the consult line at 1-866-814-0038, or book a consultation at agulloplasticsurgery.com.
#StayBeautiful
@RealDrWorldWide on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, @Agullo on X, or @AgulloPlasticSurgery on Facebook.
- Posted on: August 20th 2026
- Category: Commentary, Patient Safety
Yahoo Finance called about a piece on Americans flying to South Korea for $312 health screenings that would cost four times as much at home. It was mostly about general checkups, not surgery, but my practice sits forty minutes from Ciudad Juarez, and I see the surgical version of this question constantly. Here’s the fuller […]
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- Posted on: August 20th 2026
- Category: Commentary, Patient Safety
Yahoo Finance called about a piece on Americans flying to South Korea for $312 health screenings that would cost four times as much at home. It was mostly about general checkups, not surgery, but my practice sits forty minutes from Ciudad Juarez, and I see the surgical version of this question constantly. Here’s the fuller answer.
The Price Comparison Is Usually Apples to Oranges
An overseas quote and a domestic quote are rarely measuring the same thing. A US quote tends to fold in the surgical facility, anesthesia, and a defined postoperative period, all bundled into one number. An overseas quote often covers just the operation itself, with everything else priced separately or not mentioned at all. Before you compare two numbers, make sure you know what’s actually inside each one.
The Real Draw Isn’t the Discount
For most patients I talk to, the deciding factor isn’t the price gap. It’s access and speed, being offered an appointment in two weeks instead of five months. That’s a legitimate reason to travel. I’d just rather patients travel with eyes open about what they’re trading for that speed.
The Risk Sits in Aftercare, Not the Operating Table
This is the part that rarely makes it into the pitch. Complications after surgery often surface after you’re already home, and at that point the surgeon who operated is on the other side of a border. The physician picking up your case locally has no operative report, doesn’t know what was actually done inside, and is starting from zero on a case that isn’t routine anymore.
That gap, between when a complication shows up and who’s actually available to manage it, is the real risk in medical tourism. It has nothing to do with the surgeon’s skill and everything to do with distance and timing.
Five Questions Before You Book
Verify the operating surgeon’s individual credentials, not just the clinic’s marketing. Get an itemized quote in writing, so you know what the price actually includes. Confirm in writing who pays if there’s a complication, and what the revision policy is. Line up a physician at home before you travel, so you’re not searching for one mid-crisis. And build in more recovery time before flying home than the clinic recommends, since travel stress on a body still healing is its own risk factor.
None of that is meant to talk anyone out of traveling for care. It’s meant to make sure the trip doesn’t trade a five-month wait for a much worse problem six weeks later.
About Dr. Frank Agullo
Frank Agullo, MD, FACS, is double board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He completed his plastic surgery fellowship at Mayo Clinic and serves as a Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. He has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for thirteen consecutive years, and his El Paso practice regularly treats patients navigating exactly this decision given its proximity to Mexico.
Ready to Talk?
Whether you’re considering surgery here or weighing options abroad, I’ll give you the same honest questions to ask either way.
Call (915) 590-7900, text 1-866-814-0038, or book online at agulloplasticsurgery.com/appointments. #StayBeautiful.
@RealDrWorldWide on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, @Agullo on X, or @AgulloPlasticSurgery on Facebook.
Cross-links
- Patient-facing version on agulloplasticsurgery.com: “Considering Surgery Abroad? Read This First” (link once live)
- Practice version on swplasticsurgery.com: “Southwest Plastic Surgery on Medical Tourism” (link once live)
- Source: Yahoo Finance (syndicated from Moneywise.com), “‘Still worth it’: Why Americans fly to South Korea for $312 healthcare that can cost up to four times more at home,” Victoria Vesovski, August 1, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/still-worth-why-americans-fly-120000175.html
