Michele Hakakha, MD

I am so so grateful to finally find a gynecologist that is highly intelligent, gentle, and very attentive. It’s taken me many years to find Dr. Hakakha, but I am so happy I did.
First of all, she is so funny and easy-​going that I didn’t experience any of the discomfort I normally experience at a gynecologist appointment. Second of all, she listened to the issues that I was having and offered me a solution that none of the other doctors I had been to had thought of. And the best part of it is that now my issues are completely resolved. Dr. Hakakha really knows what she’s talking about. I am so grateful to her.

I saw Dr. Hakakha for years and paid her thousands of dollars because I was so sick. I had recurrent yeast infections, heavy menses and a litany of other feminine problems including painful sex. She prescribed me a series of different birth controls and diflucan for 6 months and told me I was «anxious during sex» causing the pain or maybe I had endometriosis but she did not do any further testing. I got sicker and sicker over the course of 2.5−3 years of seeing her. I was so frustrated.
I finally saw an internist despite the feminine nature of my problems who gave me a hormone test. My estrogen was through the roof. Eventually this led to a different doctor and an ultrasound. I had a benign tumor that was 7 by 9 cm on the u/​s attached to my right ovary. The birth control she had given me had been helping it grow faster. I had it surgically removed and all of my problems resolved literally overnight.
She’s a great doctor until you have a problem.

Dr Hakakha is an exceptional, dedicated, professional, warm, extraordinary doctor. I’ve considered having a second child just to have regular visits with her again… The whole experience of getting pregnant, her sage, sound advice up to my incredible birth experience with my daughter were only made possible by her unparalleled expertise, humanity and unbelievable warmth. I pushed for 3 and half hours and Dr Hakakha was a tireless cheerleader and beautiful support system even with my neurotic mother trying to get into the room. She’s also a bouncer! You will not find a finer, more available, trustworthy doctor in the field than Dr Hakakha especially in the sometimes scary, precarious times before, during and after pregnancy…
100 stars for Dr Hakakha.

Dr. Hakakha is great. I have always felt self concious going to the gynecologist. Dr. Hakakha is so sweet and I really feel comfortable around her. I am no longer embarrassed to ask my doctor important questions. She is very warm and always friendly. I love Dr. Hakakha and I am so glad I have her in my life. She is detailed and patient in answering all my questions and never makes me feel bad about it. My previous gyno would judge me and make me feel very uncomfortable. But, Dr. Hakakha helps me with all my problems without judging me or making me feel weird. Her office is also clean and she has a very friendly staff. Lisa and Vivian are always nice when I come in. I could not have asked for a better doctor and know I can trust her. Thank you Dr. Hakakha! :)

She’s great, reliable and one of the best drs I have to date.

Dr Hakakha is one of the warmest, most caring and concerned doctors. She was always available for any emergency calls, even when she was in Disneyland! Also I was extremely afraid of giving birth, yet she made the whole experience so easy. She made me so calm and relaxed during the whole birthing process by talking to me in a soothing way. I really could not have asked for a better doctor or experience. She is great for those of you who are afraid of being pregnant and giving birth!

Dr. Hakakha is friendly, lovely, and simply radiant. My visit was a pleasure (or as much as one of its nature could be). I would give her 5 stars, but a recent experience changed my view slightly. I had an emergency and was in extreme pain. I called the office 3 – 5 times and begged them to tell Dr. Hakakha to call me. Needless to say, she never did! I ended up going to a different doctor to deal with my illness. This doctor, who I had never met before, was able to help me right away and was sure to answer the phone any time I had a follow up question. This was extremely discouraging as a patient of Dr. Hakakha, but I will probably still return to her for my default checkup because she is still the most easy-​going, funny, and sweet doctor I’ve met.

Dr. Hakakha helped me achieve a very successful VBAC with my second child. She is amazing. I went to her new office which is beautiful and convenient and never once had to wait to get in (the trick being to schedule early morning appts). She has an excellent bedside manner and clearly/​calmingly explains everything you need to know. Her office visits are very informative and her nurses are also very sweet, I think I’d actually describe them as loving.
On the day I delivered Dr H was attentive and patient. Even though I was with my second child, because I had an unwanted c-​section with my first child and was not allowed to finish dilating after only 10 hours of labor with my first OB, I was a slow laborer. Dr. H hung in there with me. She allowed me to labor and take time to dilate and I had a very healthy, beautiful baby boy by VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) with no complications. Having had both a cesarean delivery and a vaginal now I can’t begin to tell you how much more satisfying, loving and magical the vaginal experience was… Not to mention the recovery from the V delivery was a breeze compared to the C-​Section (which was weeks of pain and discomfort and reduced mobility).
Lastly, Dr. H is on top of the latest advances of medicine in her specialty. She encouraged me to continue to excersize through my entire pregnancy which helped me feel better and keep the weight off and also helped with recovery.
My only regret is that she did not help me deliver my first child as well.

I dread going to the gyn for my check-​ups. I dreaded finding a gyn in LA. After a friend recommended Dr. Hakakha following a bad experience with a previous doctor, I was dreading it. But she made it so much more bearable. I am a bit of a baby when it comes to any kind of exam, and she was kind and patient. She has a great bedside manner and manages to talk to you like you’re an intelligent human being.

I was a patient of Dr. Hakakha for a few years and thought she was great until I had a medical emergency. I had gone to see her with my condition, which she chalked up to needing to switch birth control pills, instead of a proper examination. Even with my medical history of cysts, and an emergency call over the weekend, the doctor never bothered to examine me. She has clearly taken on too many patients and was spread thin, and overlooked my medical condition which then landed me in the hospital. When I called her from the hospital to let her know how upset I was and what was going on, she couldn’t be bothered! I was outraged, she explained that she was ‘busy’, which I found terrible. In addition, she never followed up with me after I was released. Her oversight landed me in pretty serious condition in the hospital where I was almost in need of a blood transfusion.
I would NOT recommend her to anyone, and I believe her current patients deserve to know how awful and unprofessional her actions were throughout a serious medical situation.

I had my first baby at 25, and Dr. Hakakha was very professional and very sweet! She delivered my daughter in 25 minutes and made the experience wonderful. Highly recommended.

love her! she’s the best & she LOVES shoes just like me, we’re a match made in heaven! ;O)

It doesn’t get any better than Michele Hakakha, both professionally and personally!!! Not even in your wildest dreams ~ Period, point blank, end of story!

I have been seeing Dr. Hakakha since I was 14 (about 8 years now) and I can’t imagine going to see anyone else. I’ve even moved 2 hours away and make the drive down to LA to see her because I don’t I can find anyone better. My medical history is long (I have a huge patient file) and she remembers all of it despite having many patients. The staff there I have known for years and always remember me. Everyone is super nice and friendly. My longest wait time: 5 minutes, if that. Over the years she has shown a personal care in my medical health and goes above and beyond and I genuinely believe she has my best interests at heart. If I ever move out of state, I think I would still come to Dr. Hakakha. I cannot recommend her enough.

Dr. H. and her staff have been so wonderful to my husband and I in our pregnancy process. This is our first baby, so we’ve had a ton of questions and everything has been strange and unexpected. Dr. H. has been very supportive and attentive to all of our questions, and makes us feel comfortable to call and ask any time about anything. Not that we’re constantly calling her (a lot of information is online) but here are some examples:
I felt sharp cramping pains on my left side during the first trimester and called in to make sure it wasn’t something bad, like an ectopic pregnancy. She returned my call within an hour (after 6 pm on a Friday) to make sure everything was ok.
I recently had a scare, where I didn’t feel the baby move for several hours. He’s normally very active and kicks practically non-​stop. When I called in, she was able to see me right away, no wait time when I walked in, and sit with me while I was hooked up to the baby monitor to reassure me that the baby was healthy and to offer comforting advice about how she experienced something similar during her pregnancy
Both times she was extremely responsive, timely in her response, and didn’t make us feel rushed or uncomfortable that it was outside of business hours or squeezed in between patients.
If you want a doctor who takes the time to get to know you individually and remembers all the details of your concerns during your visits, and is super attentive to all of your questions and doesn’t make you feel silly for calling, you will have a great experience with Dr. H.
We’re looking forward to the delivery of our first baby, and out of all the things we need to worry about/​plan, we’re sure that we’re in good hands with Dr. H.

Dr. Hakakha is wonderful, let me just start with this! I have been going to her office for the past 2 years, and my visits are always headache-​free. The staff there is very competent and very polite. And most importantly, I know that my doctor really cares about me. She always follows-​up with a phone call herself, not the nurse or another member of the staff.
Dr. Hakakha made me feel very relaxed during the examinations, and I always felt she was very careful not to make me feel any pain or discomfort. She is very very gentle. Also, I really appreciate the fact that I don’t feel any pressure or rush during my visits. She always takes the time to discuss and address all of my concerns. I also really appreciate the fact that not having an insurance made no difference with regards to the way I was treated. Not to mention that paying about $ 100 cash per visit ($ 220 for the first one I believe) is well worth it.
Dr. Hakakha is the most wonderful doctor I have ever had, and the staff is also VERY competent. HIGHLY recommended

I completely agree with the 2 previous reviewers.
I initially found Dr. Hakakha because a friend on Unilocal recommended her partner Dr. Chein. At the time I was pregnant and Dr. Chein wasn’t accepting new pregnant patients. So, I went to see Dr. Hakakha, and I’m so glad I did. She’s the best OB I’ve ever seen. I trust her completely.
The first time I went to see her I was insured with Kaiser, but was desperately searching for new health coverage. It was so nice to not have the hassle of explaining why I hate my HMO and I just filled out the paperwork as though I was completely uninsured. You do have to pay upfront, but routine office visits are around $ 125, and you can put it on your credit card. It’s completely worth it for the care and attention you get. Unfortunately, I had a miscarriage, but she called me herself to give me the news. She also called Kaiser herself and had them release my records to me. I had been trying for more than 6 months to get my records, but they were refusing to release them. And now that I am pregnant again, she is keeping a close eye on me. There are no long waits in the waiting room. There is a ton of personal attention, and the front office staff is very professional, friendly, and helpful. I’ve even been able to get same day appointments. The nurses are intelligent and helpful. I’ve had a few pregnancy related questions, and they can often answer them on the phone. Dr. Hakakha has also personally returned my calls the same business day! I’m so happy I found her.

I’ve had my fair share of docs up in my biz (professionally!)… but never one so thoughtful and amazing as Dr. Hakakha. Going in I was a nervous wreck — thinking I’m about to die or never have kids or whatever horrible things can go on in our heads when we don’t know any better… but Dr. Hakakha calmed my fears and assured me I was juuusttt fiineee.
So here’s the long and short of it:
1) They’re an «out of network» office. Meaning, they don’t take insurance and you have to pay up front. If you HAVE insurance, they’ll provide you with the paperwork to be reimbursed. If you don’t have insurance (which is my situation at the moment) it is REALLY nice to not be treated like uninsured scum.
2) The front-​office staff is actually INTELLIGENT and competent. That’s a first for me.
3) My appointment was at 10:30a, I found a meter outside (meters are only good until 3 p.m. though, so be aware if your appointment is in the afternoon you’ll have to find parking elsewhere), filled out my paperwork and was with the nurse less than 5 minutes after turning my paperwork in.
4) The only thing the nurse did was get my weight, take my blood pressure and make me pee in a cup. No embarrassing questions, no digging into my health history, just basic stuff…
5) After the basics I was taken to the Dr. Hakakha’s office, where she PERSONALLY got my history and went over my lab results and addressed any questions or concerns I had. No judgment, no rush, no question left unanswered. And I wasn’t all vulnerable in a paper gown.
6) After addressing all my questions she took me to the exam room where I put on the lovely paper outfit and took a seat in the mechanical chair that automatically lowers and is much more comfortable than an exam table…
7) After a quick breast exam, I assumed the position… ladies, you all know it… but I really liked the fact that your feet didn’t go in the stirrups, your calves did. which is MUCH more comfortable and you feel less exposed…
8) QUICK exam. quick quick… because it’s horrible enough as it is. at least it didn’t take long.
9) After the exam, ugly paper outfit off, it was back to her office to talk about what was next, when she’d need to see me again, go over anything she saw (or didn’t see) and any other questions I had… again, no rush, no judgment.
10) She promises to call with lab results herself — with good or bad news regardless and that is MUCH appreciated.
11) $ 220 for an initial visit to establish as a patient — I think it’s about $ 100/​visit after that. WELL WORTH IT. Even if you do have insurance, it’s worth the hassle of filing the claim.
Worth the drive to Beverly Hills and worth the cost. It saved me from going to god-​awful planned parenthood and I was treated like a human being instead of a number.
Best doctor I’ve ever had… and I will highly recommend her to any of my lady friends…