Locations
Office
WA
About
Bio
Dr. Baxter is a board certified plastic surgeon, author of the award winning book "Age Gets Better with Wine," Past President of state and regional plastic surgery societies, artist, and nationally recognized expert on anti-aging and emerging technologies in plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine. He has lectured and published extensively and has been featured in Allure, WebMD, Elle, AOL, as well as broadcast media. Dr. Baxter is currently the Chief Medical Officer for Calidora Skin Clinics, and serves on the Emerging Trends Committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Plastic Surgery
Languages spoken
English
Doctor Q&A
111 Answers
24 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Possibly: Pills intended to enlarge the breasts are often made from botanical sources (plants) that contain what are called phytoestrogens, or hormone-like subs... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
About a week: Breast reduction is done to relieve the symptoms caused by heavy breasts such as neck and back pain. There is usually not a significant amount of disc... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Possible: Radiation treatment can cause significant changes to the skin and breast tissue including ulcerations, redness, and long-term problems such as fibrosi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Not with local alone: With local anesthesia for a facelift (meaning numbing medication is injected) it is a good idea to also have an anesthesia provider (anesthesiologist ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Silicone is safe: There is no medical device that has been more intensively studied than silicone breast implants, and the fda has confirmed that they are safe and effe... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Yes: It depends of course on the nature of the travel (car ride vs plane trip) but it is always a good idea to wait a minimum af 5-7 days. You want to make... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Partly: You can lower the odds of developing breast cancer by limiting alcohol intake to no more than a drink or 2 per day (and mostly red wine), exercising r... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Days to weeks: Tiem to return to work and daily activities depends on how physically demanding the job is, whether implants are under the muscle, and other factors. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 50-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Liposonix: There are 2 noninvasive technologies that are fda cleared to reduce localized abdominal fat. Liposonix uses high-intensity focused ultrasound (hifu) t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old male asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Tummy tuck is best: There are unfortunately no proven methods to tighten skin significantly after weight loss other than a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), so be very wary of... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Why not lipo?: Liposuction is very easy to do under local anesthesia in the neck area if the skin tone is good. A very common procedure is to remove some fat from th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Don't do it: It is best to wait until you are completely done having children before having a tummy tuck. It won't interfere with the pregnancy but will undo all o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Depends months: An important consideration in recovery after a tummy tuck is parenting and the ability to lift a small child. Also, ideally you need to have lost extr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Maybe: Recurrence after radiation most often means mastectomy. Unfortunately, after radiation for breast cancer, the tissue is changed in a way that limits t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Serious risks rare: There is a lot of misinformation about the risks of liposuction but the important thing to keep in mind is that although the skin incisions are tiny, ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
In a sense: There are several ways to define major vs minor surgery (some say minor surgery is any operation on someone else) but abdminoplasty is not a trivial o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Lipo usually safe: Although complications are possible. Liposuction by a qualified surgeon is a fairly safe operation. It is not for weight loss and there are limits to ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Improving scars: Scars cannot be prevented but there are things that can be done to minimize them. The way the surgery was done helps, and taping the area for about 6 ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Lipo breast uncommon: Liposuction is not a typical part of a breast reduction, though it can be done in some cases. Removing fat from the breasts makes them more dense, so ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
SPF measures UVB: Spf is the most familiar method of measuring sunscreen effectiveness, but it doesn't tell the whole story and new labeling regulations will be applied... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Radiesse (dermal fillers) is safe: Radiesse is a dermal filler for wrinkles and contour filling. It has a very good safety record but should not be used in the lips. A possible disadvan... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Lasers are medical: Lasers of sufficiant power for hair removal are generally considered medical (precsriptive) devices that are used under the supervision of a physician... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Safety first: Both procedures can be done safely and with good results in the right patient. Thin women with small breasts usually get a better result under the mus... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Breast lift: Breasts go through many changes after breast feeding, with the most common being some degree of sagging and volume loss. If you are happy with the siz... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Not available yet: There are some versions of Botox that can be applied topically rather than by injection, but these are not yet fda-cleared. It will still need to be d... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Botox : Botox (and other similar products like dysport) works in a unique way by relaxing hyperactive muscles of expression, so for certain areas like the fur... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Buy sunscreen: Why take chances with your skin? While zinc oxide is a low-tech but effective sun blocking ingredient, you don't have to spend much to get good sunscr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Liposonix works: The technology that uses high-intensity focused ultrasound for noninvasive local fat reduction is called liposonix. It is fda approved and in the clin... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Smartest lipo: "smart lipo" is one brand of laser-assisted liposuction. There are many others, in addition to ultrasound-assisted lipo (vaser), waterjet lipo, tickle... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Safe within limits: Your question is very important and the simple answer is that lipo is very safe if not too much fat is removed and it is done by a qualified surgeon i... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Definitely not!: There are some plant-derived compounds called phytoestrogens that may stimulate breast tissue, but there is virtually nothing published to verify that... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Botulism is rare: If you have symptoms of botulism ( a serious type of food poisoning) then you will likely be referred to a facility where the test could be done. If y... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Yes: A tummy tuck is done to correct the changes that occur from pregnancy that you can't do with diet and exercise: tighten loose skin, remove stretch ma... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
No: Although breast implants are guaranteed for life against failure by the manufacturers, there is a reasonable chance that they will need to be revised ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 47-year-old male asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Lipo is usually safe: Regardless of the technique, liposuction is surgery and it is safe when done under the right circumstances by a qualified surgeon. Most of the risks a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Same thing: All injuries heal with a scar, which is a normal healing process. Occasionally scars develop abnormally and become thick and hard - this is called a h... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Liposuction : Liposuction is a body contouring procedure to remove localized areas of fat that are disproportionate and resistant to change with diet and exercise. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old male asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Liposonix: Focused ultrasound for noninvasive localized fat reduction (liposonix is the only brand fda approved) is effective for moderate fat reduction around t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 58-year-old female asked:
I've seen women where the appearance of their mouths have changed unnaturally after a facelift. why?
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Natural facelift: A well-done facelift should restore a natural appearance. Keys to avoiding the pulled look include volume restoration for 3-dimensional rejuvenation, ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Liposuction/tuck: Body contouring procedures such as liposuction and tummy tuck are not for weight loss but rather for reshaping the body by reducing localized areas of... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Yes: Although liposuction is still the gold standard for removing localized areas of fat that don't respond to diet and exercise, there are 2 technologies ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Before not during: Having had prior liposuction will not interfere with pregnancy. It will not guarantee against weight gain however.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Yes: Though there is not universal agreement on what the weight limit should be, plastic surgeons do agree that a tummy tuck is not a subsitute for diet an... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Too much, yes: This is a controversial topic, but most major studies agree that heavy drinking increases risk by about 10% for each daily drink. It is extremely diff... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
They get smaller: A variable percentage of the breast tissue is fat, which will diminish with weight loss. That is one reason why we recommend that patients get close t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Weeks to months: You will see the tightened and smoother skin soon after a tummy tuck, but there is often an area of numbness or reduced sensitivity in the lower abdom... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 29-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
No: Breast augmentation with implants produces a predictable and stable change in breast size and shape, while response to hormone therapy is highly varia... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Ask your surgeon: Your plastic surgeon will give you a detailed list of the risks for your abdominoplasty. In general, the odds of serious complications are increased i... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Benefits > risks: Every surgery has risks and benefits, so it comes down to what we call the risk/benefit ratio. Silicone breast implants have been studied more than an... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Richard Baxteranswered
Specializes in Plastic Surgery
Usually minimal: When properly done liposuction does not usually cause much discomfort- typically some soreness similar to after having a vigorous workout at the gym. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
3
Recommendations
253
Thank you notes
May 3, 2015
Great doctor. Consistently gives thoughtful, insightful and expert advice.
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Baxter is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Baxter is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
This was very helpful. Thanks! Thank you for pointing out that these things lower your risk and are not a prevention.
HealthTap member
I asked my plastic surgeon as suggested and he does not put much stock in the herb, but said its not going to hurt.
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer or tip was very helpful!
Awards
HealthTap Founding Doctor
Publications
Impact of local administration of liposome bupivacaine for postsurgical analgesia on wound healing: A review of data from ten prospective, controlled ...
Long-term follow-up with AlloDerm in breast reconstruction
Safety and tolerability of high-intensity focused ultrasonography for noninvasive body sculpting: 24-week data from a randomized, sham-controlled stud...
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