I searched for the top female ophthalmologist / specialist in Beverly Hills and found Dr. Melinda Hakim. I read of her credentials and many accolades, and thought how fantastic that was. My experience & thinking has always been the same in whatever I do; the prospective business/company or individual may be the best, and at the top of their game, but how is their interpersonal interaction(s)? Just to give a brief background: I recently visited a couple of physician(s) who failed to see the importance of communicating with me the diagnosis, prognosis, options, and any other relevant facts regarding my health care. Also, it hasn't happened often but I personally have seen the difference and disparity in minority health care, mainly women, and no matter my income bracket, exclusive zip code, or great health insurance plan; people are people. At any rate, I scoured whatever I could find online as well as her website(s), links, etc., but it was actually through the yelp reviews that I read the glowing responses and reports of Dr. Hakim's patients. Again- I was impressed with the awards, her involvement in the community both personally, and professionally; commanding the respect of peers & colleagues, but I needed to know that she spoke to and honored everyone. I read through the reviews/responses, and marveled at the replies. And because of that I almost turned away. She just seemed too good to be true. Or, perhaps my view and opinion of people had become jaded. However, I continued reading and looking at every patient. Their concerns, experiences, and interactions with her, her staff, and/or liaisons w/hospitals, and they all had the same underlying message; she listens, she advocates, she's persistent, and is highly skilled at what she does. And she does not hesitate to refer you to an equally qualified physician or specialist. I came away with the feeling that this just might be the best choice for me. I have to say that I'm pleased that I made the call. Dr. Melinda is knowledgeable, attentive, and thorough. I can be and make no apologies for being particular and persistent. When I saw that she exhibited that and more during my examination & testing, I had to chuckle; she was so intent and meticulous that it thrilled & tickled me to no end. Finally! In this day and age of technology, social media, and reality television--and what seems to be power entrepreneurship partnerships & businesses and what-not of Doctors. Dr. Melinda is genuine, and personable with a warm, and sincere personality. Her work and skill set is very intricate, and we can all relate to experiences of Doctors with the bedside manners of an orangutan and rhinoceros. Lol. In that order. But it is refreshing to find a jewel. I like that she takes the time with you and you actually come away feeling seen, heard, and your concerns be they large or small; validated. She removed cysts, nodules, skin tags & warts (I know!) from the corners of my eyes and cheeks, taking years off my appearance. I no longer feel fat and stereotypical (at least nothing a farm2table lifestyle, H2O & daily brisk walks with my Yorkies couldn't help). I'm back on my path and lifestyle of optimum health & longevity. I am so excited about life and resuming my outdoor activities. Dr. Melinda Hakim has helped change my outlook on life, and more importantly, myself. That to me--is priceless. PS. I'm told I have my beautiful eyes back ;) read more

Outstanding eye doctor. I have had tearing for three years in my right eye. I went to four eye doctors in the last three years with no results. Finally, with Dr. Hakim, my problem is solved. The first eye doctor I saw told me to use artificial tears three times a day. This doctor was highly recommended to me by two of my friends and his name is all over the newspapers. The eye drops made my tearing even worse. The second and third eye doctors told me to take allergy drops. That made absolutely no difference. The fourth eye doctor I saw before Dr. Hakim told me that I had a condition called, blephariitis, and told me that if I scrubbed my lashes with baby shampoo, my tearing should improve. It didn't and my eyes just got more irritated. I learned about Dr. Hakim at an inspirational talk she was giving at a local High School. She seemed very confident and affable and had numerous awards to back her up. Many people attending the talk were her patients and they all had amazing things to say about her. So I went to her office and I wasn't expecting anything to change; but it really did and that is why I am writing this review. I was greeted by a friendly staff member and an assistant took me to the back right away. He got some history and checked my vision and then the doctor examined me. She told me that the problem looked like tear duct obstruction in the right eye. She recommended "flushing" my tear duct. She took me to the other room and flushed my right eye tear duct with saline solution. She had me come back in one week. Ta da. No more tearing. I was ecstatic. I hope people read this review who have this problem and go see her. My life has really changed for the better. I was so tired of wiping my eyes every single hour. Now my eye is truly back to normal after a 10 minute procedure. I highly recommend her. read more

I went to Dr. Hakim without a referral. She was on my insurance plan and I saw some of the testimonials on her website and I just decided to go see her. I am very happy I did. She is one of the best doctors I have been to. She went out of her way for me. When I went to her office, the staff was friendly, I filled out paper work and the she took me back right away. There was no wait after I finished filling out my forms (this is rare at most doctors offices these days). She got a thorough history and examined my eyes. I was seeing new flashing lights in my left eye and some new floaters. She dilated my eyes. When I was waiting for the dilation to work, there is a Starbucks down the hall and I picked up a latte. I came back to the waiting room and saw one of my favorite actors checking in to see her. What an added bonus. He is even more handsome in person. When she took me in, she found a small retinal detachment in my left eye. She was very comforting and positive about it. She didn't scare me at all. She immediately called a retinal detachment specialist. He agreed to see me at 6 pm on a weeknight! I went to his office, he repaired the detachment with an air puff procedure (retinopexy) and voila, it was fixed. The specialist that she sent me to is world renowned for his retinal work and he kept his office open just to take care of me. I just had my six month follow up and my vision is 20/20. No new detachments. No headaches. No more floaters and flashes. I am very pleased and grateful. read more

I saw Dr. Hakim a year ago to remove a huge growth from my eyelid. This growth was stuck in my eyelashes and causing a lot of itching and discomfort. She removed the growth with no scarring and no bruising. None of my lashes came out. A year later, the growth hasn't come back. You can't tell that anything was removed from my eyelid. This year, I sent my dad for a general eye check up with Dr. Hakim. She noted a very small bump in his outer retina. She recommended that he get an eye ultrasound. The ultrasound showed possible melanoma. A biopsy was done and confirmed a melanoma of the eye. We did a full body scan and my dad didn't have melanoma anywhere else in his body. We did treatment to the melanoma and my dad's vision is 20/20. We basically saved him from invasive melanoma to his body by doing a routine eye exam! She sent us to a retina specialist who couldn't believe that she was able to pick this up because it was so tiny and so far out in the back of his eye. I have nothing but fantastic things to say about Dr. Hakim. She is thorough, serious about what she does, and really cares about doing an excellent job. read more

Dr. Hakim is one of the best doctors to whom I have ever gone. She cares about each patient and is infinitely patient, through, and knowledgeable. Dr. Hakim diagnosed a very unique condition in my husband's eye and referred him to a comparably stellar specialist. When my father moved to California to be in assisted living, I took him to Dr. Hakim for regular checkups. She was so kind to my 90 year old father and took excellent care of him when he went through a particularly difficult cataracts operation. She always spoke directly to him and made sure he understood every procedure. My father so appreciated her gentleness and attention to detail. Dr. Hakim helped me tremendously when I could not get used to contacts and she has accurately prescribed my progressive lens glasses each year. In addition, her assistant is a loving, kind woman who works very hard and is extremely careful and detailed. All in all, I cannot wait to see Dr. Hakim each year. She is the best! read more

Dr. Hakim...What can I say... nothing less than... I have had the good fortune to be referred to Ophthalmologists Melinda A Hakim, MD, of the American Eye Institute at Cedars Sinai. My experience during during the past 8 years, with each and every visit was one of professionalism, thoughtful through examination and diagnosis...Which can only be surpassed by Dr. Hakim's delightful compassionate personality. The good Dr. said to me, "Your vision will never become a problem on my watch." She has always been great about answering my questions and explaining everything she recommends in a way that I can understand. AFTER CATARACT AND ASTIGMATISM SURGERY.... FOR THE 1ST TIME IN YEARS... I CAN WORK ON THE COMPUTER WITHOUT READING GLASSES AND WENT TO THE GROCERY STORE SHOPPING... CLEARLY ABLE TO READ LABELS. MY VISION IN MY RIGHT AND LEFT EYE WENT FROM 20/50 to 20/20. "Thrilled EYE Can See So Much Better" Shaun W. read more

Dr. Hakim is the most caring and outstanding eye doctor I have met. I called her office for the first time because I had a terrible eye infection and couldn't open my eye. I had a huge, painful swelling on my lid and it was all red and puffy around my eye. I called her office after 5 pm not sure if the office would be open. She stayed late to see me even after her clinic was over and all of the other doctors had left. She drained the pus out of my eyelid with a procedure and put me on antibiotics right away. She WALKED me to the pharmacy down the hall to make sure I got my medication. She explained in detail how I should take the medication and take care of my eye. She called me the next day to check up on me. When I went for my follow up 2 days later, I was completely cured. She really cares, and I am so grateful to her. read more

No words can describe how thankful I am for Dr. Melinda Hakim. I owe my left eyesight to her. It was Saturday morning and I woke up with blurriness in my left eye with many floaters. I was planning to wait until Monday to see someone about it since most of doctors were not available over the weekend. One of my friends recommended Dr. Hakim and I am so glad. As soon as I called Dr. Hakim, she realized that it might be serious, and asked me to rush to her office on her day off. She discovered that I had a retinal detachment which would have caused permanent blindness if I had waited. She devoted few hour of her time for me to make sure that I had emergent surgery and that I was doing fine. Her knowledge and compassion is astonishing. I highly recommend her as your ophthalmologist. read more

All of my eye and vision check ups had been with an Optometrist, I had never needed to see an Ophthalmologist until I began noticing a slight bulge in my eye had become an even bigger bulge. I had no idea who to see, my optometrist referred me to someone but I wasn't "feeling" it, you know. So I began my search and God directed my path. And that path led me to Dr. Melinda Hakim. It was because of her compassion, her thoroughness, her dedication, her knowledge and her bold "I got this!" attitude that a tumor was found on my brain in the orbit. She jumped on this so quickly making sure I had the best care! The tumor was removed and my eye was saved! I thank God I found her! read more

I love her. My primary care doctor said that all his patients love her, and I do as well. I had a nasty stye on my eye. I had this thing for months. All my other doctors told me to just do compresses and it would go away, but it didn't. She gave me a thorough exam and drained the stye last week. She was so gentle, and walked me through the whole process. I had almost no discomfort. I felt at ease and I am normally very squeamish about my eyes. The next day, I took the patch off my eye and there was no bruising or swelling. I couldn't even tell that I had a procedure done. I will see her again today. I am a very happy camper. read more

Dr. Hakim is extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and has her patient's best interests in mind. She advocates for her patients in an often complicated and frustrating medical field and is ready to answer any and all questions you may have. I don't often leave reviews on this site, but after a great visit with her today I felt obligated to spread the gospel to anybody else potentially looking for a skilled ophthalmologist with a fabulous bedside manner. My specific eye issue requires me to visit her yearly and with her I trust that my vision, and frankly my life, is in good hands. read more

I was seeing flashes and floaters and discovered that I had several retinal tears in both of my eyes. I was fortunate that Dr. Melinda Hakim was able to diagnose my condition in both eyes and refer me to a specialist immediately for treatment. She was very patient and performed a thorough examination with several lenses to confirm my diagnosis. I still have my eyesight because of her knowledgeable background in the field of ophthalmology. read more

I had miserable growths (more than 15) growing all around my eyes. My dermatologist referred me to Dr. Hakim. She set up a time to remove them. She took her time and removed all of them so carefully. There was absolutely NO SCARRING. I can't believe that. Not even a little hint or remnant and I have had these growths for over 10 years, some very close to my eyelashes. Thank You!! I am very pleased with her work. read more

The best doctor I have ever been too! When I was 37 I had horrible double vision and I went to all of the eye doctors in Los Angeles, and no one was as good as Melinda. They were all dirty and not good at their job. So I went to Melinda and she was a LIFESAVER! She is so clean, friendly, professional, and just truly awesome! She is BY FAR the best doctor I have ever been to! yes, I say that again. read more

I have been seeing Dr. Hakim for years. Having moved out of LA County, I now drive over an hour to see her. It's well worth it. I see her for annual exams and anything that needs attention in between. She performed my lasik surgery eight years ago and my vision remains 20/20. She is a wonderful doctor. read more

I saw this doctor for the first time today. She has an excellent bedside manner and was able to remove a huge bump on my eye in 5 minutes with no pain and no swelling. I am very appreciative of her delicate hand and skillful work. She also came highly recommended to me by several friends whom I trust. read more

Best doctor in town! She knows how to do the job right! Amazing!! She is definitely my favorite eye doctor! I definitely recommend her over other eye doctors because she is very kind and compassionate, but also really does it right read more

I can't believe the GREAT experience I had at dr. Hakim's office. She gave me such good care. I have been having some serious eye problems. She diagnosed me correctly after others have misdiagnosed me. She changed my life. read more