Tummy Tuck

While some soreness is involved, most patients describe it as a tight, pulling sensation rather than sharp pain. At U Plastic Surgery + Aesthetics, your comfort is a top priority. Dr. Tag injects long acting pain medication into the diastasis repair to help with pain management post operatively.  Dr. Tag provides detailed post-operative instructions and appropriate medication to keep you as comfortable as possible throughout your recovery. Within the first few days, the discomfort typically begins to ease, and patients are often surprised by how manageable the healing process can be.

You’ll begin with a personalized consultation with Dr. Tag to discuss your goals and determine the best approach. If you decide to move forward, we’ll schedule a pre-operative appointment to review your surgical plan and instructions in detail. After your procedure, you’ll return for a few follow-up visits to monitor your healing and ensure everything is progressing beautifully. Most patients require approximately 3 to 5 appointments in total, depending on their individual needs.

You’ll notice a difference in your contour right away, but your final results will take time. Swelling can last several weeks to a few months. Most patients in Baltimore report feeling “back to normal” by the 3-month mark, with full, sculpted results typically visible by 6 months. Patience pays off, and the wait is totally worth it.

Every person is unique, with their own individual goals. To help you decide whether an abdominoplasty is right for you, Dr. Taghizadeh would like to meet with you in person to discuss the pros, cons, and other considerations. We want any procedure you choose to be “worth it” to you because you are confident about the investment, recovery commitment, and results.

A tummy tuck provides a great return on investment: you can maintain your results with a healthy, active lifestyle that allows you to stabilize your weight. Therefore, the results can be very long-lasting. Most of our patients report high satisfaction rates with the procedure.

Some people find they go down one to three sizes after the procedure, but this is not guaranteed. You will have a flatter tummy, but you may not notice a change in clothing size. Every patient is different!

Yes, tummy tuck surgery is increasingly common for men, particularly for men who have lost significant weight or want to remove loose abdominal skin. Dr. Tag can consult with you to determine whether you are a male candidate for a tummy tuck.

For some patients in Baltimore, a tummy tuck can improve core strength and posture by tightening separated abdominal muscles. This may help reduce certain types of lower back discomfort, especially when muscle separation (diastasis recti) is present.

However, the procedure is primarily cosmetic and not specifically intended to treat back pain.

Dr. Tag is meticulous about scar placement. For full tummy tucks, the horizontal incision is typically low enough to be concealed by underwear or bikini bottoms, usually placed below the belly button and above the pubic hair area. Mini-tummy tucks involve a shorter scar. Like all scars, it will fade with time, and Dr. Tag will give you tips (and product suggestions) to help it heal as discreetly as possible. If you’ve had a C-section, he may even be able to work with your existing scar to avoid adding another one.

Many patients seek Dr. Tag not only for his care and results of his tummy tucks but also for how he pays particular attention to creating a very natural belly button and scar during his tummy tucks.  How the belly button looks post operatively plays a huge role in keeping the scars discreet and natural appearing.

Light walking is encouraged early in your recovery to promote circulation, but don’t rush into crunches or cardio. Most patients can return to gentle exercise at 4 weeks and resume full workouts, including core work, around 6–8 weeks later. Dr. Tag will give you the green light when your body’s ready.

It is always possible to gain weight after any cosmetic procedure, including abdominoplasty. If you gain weight, it is more likely to appear in other areas like the arms, back, breasts, thighs, or buttocks.

You can avoid this by maintaining a stable weight through regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress management.

It depends on the stretch marks and whether that area is targeted for skin removal.

If the skin with stretch marks is removed during your procedure, the stretch marks will be gone. Ask Dr. Tag how a tummy tuck will affect the stretch marks on your abdominal area.

Absolutely. A tummy tuck often pairs beautifully with liposuction, breast surgery (such as a lift or augmentation), or body contouring as part of a comprehensive mommy makeover. 

Dr. Tag will discuss your best options with you during your consultation.

Risks may include infection, bleeding, delayed healing, blood clots, or changes in sensation. Since your safety is our primary concern, Dr. Tag takes every precaution to minimize these risks and will review them in detail with you before your procedure.

Start by looking for board certification from the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) and a track record of real, natural-looking results. Dr. Tag checks all those boxes and more. With top-tier training, decades of experience, and a strong local reputation, he’s one of Baltimore’s most trusted names in tummy tuck surgery. If you come in for your thorough consultation, you’ll be able to see firsthand why so many people in the area choose U Plastic Surgery + Aesthetics.

Diastasis recti is a condition often caused by pregnancy. As your abdomen grows, the overlying muscles stretch.

After childbirth, these muscles may not regain their former tightness and may remain lax. They could extend to the point that a gap develops at the mid-point, in the general area of the belly button.

One of the great benefits of an abdominoplasty is that it can repair diastasis recti, which commonly involves placing sutures in the muscle fascia to reattach the muscles.

This gives you a flatter, firmer abdominal area. In some cases, Dr. Tag can utilize an existing C-section scar to minimize additional scarring.

Both procedures are designed to address sagging abdominal skin and excess tissue in the abdomen, but they differ in the extent of the body they treat.

An extended tummy tuck is a variation of a traditional abdominoplasty that removes excess skin from the abdomen and improves the contour along the sides of the waist and flanks. The incision typically extends slightly past the hips to allow for more comprehensive shaping of the midsection.

A circumferential tummy tuck, sometimes referred to as a lower body lift, addresses the entire lower torso. This procedure removes excess skin around the abdomen, hips, flanks, and lower back and is most commonly recommended for patients who have experienced significant weight loss.

During your consultation at U Plastic Surgery + Aesthetics, Dr. Tag will evaluate your anatomy and discuss the body-contouring options that are most appropriate for your goals.