As an insider, Diana thought she knew everything about breast augmentation. Then she became the patient, getting a new perspective and the natural-looking results she’d always wanted.
Breast augmentation had been on Diana’s mind since the 10th grade.
The idea followed her into adulthood, but she never felt compelled to rush into it. She wanted to make sure the timing was right. She thought about her age, about breastfeeding someday, and whether she could find a surgeon who understood the result she wanted: a subtle change that fit her frame.
As it turned out, she already worked for him.
After four years at Hakimi Plastic Surgery as a front desk manager, Diana finally scheduled her own consultation with Dr. Michael Hakimi. The surgery itself took one afternoon. She was awake for all of it and back at work the next day.
“The consultation was the hardest part,” she shares.
As the swelling settled and her results began to take shape, the first thing she noticed was that her new proportions were what she’d always envisioned.
“They look so natural,” she says excitedly.
Diana’s Journey: Awake Breast Augmentation, Part 1
Shape, Not Size
Many women approach breast augmentation thinking about size. For Diana, it was more about shape than volume.
“I didn’t like the shape of my breasts, but I was happy size-wise,” she says. “I like a flatter chest. The way I look, it’s just better for my body.”
That preference is exactly why she hesitated to pursue breast augmentation.
Most of the results she’d seen in her own friend group looked larger than what she had in mind for herself. But four years of watching Dr. Hakimi listen to his patients and tailor his results to their goals and anatomy convinced her that if she was ever going to do this, he was the only one she trusted to perform her procedure.
There was no sudden epiphany or dramatic moment that made her take the first step. “One day, I was just sitting there, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to ask him.’ I’d been thinking about it for so long. All I have to do is ask.”
Becoming the Patient
When Diana finally got the courage to approach Dr. Hakimi about performing her breast augmentation, she had one condition: If he felt uncomfortable operating on someone he worked with every day, she didn’t want to go through with it.
“I told him, if he’s not comfortable doing my surgery, I’d rather not do it at all. It’s not something I was dying to get done. Yes, it would be a very good change for my body, but I didn’t want to go to a different doctor. I knew he was the only one I would be able to trust.”
Dr. Hakimi agreed to do her surgery, but with a condition of his own. He made it clear that Diana would go through the process the same way any other patient would. He wanted her to book her own consultation, on her own time, and bring her questions directly to him. No squeezing it in between appointments or interrogating the nurses and techs in passing.
“He wanted me to go through the experience as a patient,” she recalls.
So she did, and it changed the way she understood the procedure.
What She Learned In the Consultation Room
Diana thought she knew everything there was to know about breast augmentation.
It was a procedure she had been thinking about since high school, and she spent four years helping other patients navigate their journeys at one of Beverly Hills’ leading plastic surgery practices.
Her consultation with Dr. Hakimi quickly proved otherwise.
“I thought I knew a lot, but apparently I knew nothing,” she says, laughing about it now. “I did my research, I read everything there was to read online. But the sizing was completely different from what I expected, because so much depends on the base width of your chest. Those small things. Nobody explains that part.”
The sizing conversation was only her first surprise.
During that same appointment, Dr. Hakimi told Diana she was a good candidate for awake breast augmentation, with implants placed over the muscle. Awake breast augmentation is a technique that combines targeted numbing with oral medication to keep patients calm and comfortable during surgery.
Like most others, she had assumed that implants meant general anesthesia. While not a deal breaker, it was something she preferred to avoid if she could.
“I didn’t want to feel out of it afterward, because of the anesthesia,” she says. “But I didn’t know you could do the surgery without it. I’m very happy that I decided to do awake breast aug because it was easier than I thought.”
Knowing she could stay awake made surgery feel less intimidating. Next came the part she had been thinking about for years: what she wanted her breasts to look like.
Choosing the Look
Diana knew two things going into her breast augmentation: she wanted Motiva implants, which the practice had recently started carrying, and she wanted a teardrop shape rather than a round one, for a more natural look. She did not want anything that announced itself.
Settling on the actual size was harder. She texted Dr. Hakimi constantly, sending videos, second-guessing herself and trying to picture the difference between one projection and the next.
“I was kind of blowing up his phone,” she laughs.
Diana has friends who underwent breast augmentation elsewhere, and their experience differed from hers. “They never got to choose their own implants,” she says.
At Hakimi Plastic Surgery, it’s more of a partnership. Dr. Hakimi uses two tools to help patients find the right implants, and Diana used both. First came the rice test, where patients place a bag of measured rice into their bra to get a rough sense of volume. Then there are implant sizers, which they can try on under a fitted top.
When Diana asked Dr. Hakimi what size he thought was best for her, he explained the ultimate decision would happen in the operating room, where they could see how temporary implants looked in place. When surgery is performed under general anesthesia, Dr. Hakimi makes the final call, but with awake surgery, patients play a more active role in that process.
Diana was able to sit up, lift her arms, evaluate her results in real-time and provide feedback. “I was fully awake, so I got to see how they looked,” she explains. “The nurse took photos for me, and I was like, okay, that’s perfect.”
What Awake Surgery Is Actually Like
This is the part most people want to know about, and it’s the part Diana most wants them to hear, because she went in nervous and came out a believer.
There was no fasting after midnight or restricting fluids in the hours leading up to surgery. She worked out and ate breakfast that morning. Then she came in for her procedure, and when it was over, she stood up and walked out of the surgical center on her own two feet.
The numbing injections at the start kept her comfortable throughout, and Diana compares them to Botox, but bigger. “It really wasn’t bad,” she says. After that, the one sensation she remembers is pressure.
“The only thing I felt was when they were placing the implants, which was like someone pushing on your chest. But it wasn’t constant. It’s pressure for a couple seconds, and then it’s done.”
Because she was awake, she remembers the whole thing. She knew what was happening, could communicate with Dr. Hakimi and never had to wonder how it went. For someone who likes to feel in control, being present for her own surgery was incredibly reassuring.
Diana’s Journey: Awake Breast Augmentation, Part 2
The Recovery Process
Almost everything Diana braced for did not happen.
Friends of hers who’ve had breast augmentation told her to expect serious pain and being unable to raise her arms above her head for at least three weeks. But most of them had their implants placed under the muscle, which tends to involve a more uncomfortable recovery.
“My experience was nothing like that,” she says.
Her surgery was on a Thursday. She slept in on Friday morning, then came into the office that afternoon, partly because she lives right across the street, and partly because she wanted to show Dr. Hakimi how things looked at 24 hours.
Later that night, she went to dinner with her friends. She didn’t drink, but she felt well enough to sit, talk and stay out with them. By the third day, she didn’t even need her pain medication. Most of what she felt was some stiffness toward the end of the evening. Noticeable, but not unmanageable.
Within one week, early swelling had improved. One month after surgery, she felt completely normal again, and at five weeks, she was able to return to her regular workouts.
Looking back, the recovery she had imagined was much more intense than the one she experienced. She also knew support was close by if she needed it. After surgery, Dr. Hakimi gives patients his personal number and checks in that evening to see how they’re feeling. Even for Diana, having that access as a patient made the process feel reassuring.
Still, recovery came with a few everyday inconveniences. The most frustrating part for her was the surgical bra.
“When I wanted to go out, I couldn’t wear a nice dress because the straps would show,” she says. Once Dr. Hakimi cleared her to wear a regular bra or go without one for certain occasions, she finally felt like she could enjoy her results in real life.
Diana’s Journey: Awake Breast Augmentation, Part 3
A New Kind of Confidence
Standing in front of the mirror now, Diana likes what she sees, and so far nobody has been able to guess that she’s had surgery.
“Nobody can tell, and that’s what I like the most,” she says. “If I don’t tell people I had it done, they’d never know. They look like they were always mine.”
After years of not liking the shape of her breasts, her results are particularly satisfying. Before, certain clothing styles wouldn’t fit quite right, so she’d have to use specific bras or fashion tape to make them work. “I feel like I actually have some curve now, which I love, especially when I’m wearing dresses,” she says. “My whole body looks different.”
Diana has always been a confident woman, so this part of the experience caught her off guard. For years, her friends had promised she’d feel more confident afterward, and for years, that puzzled her, because she already felt good about herself.
“I always thought, but I am confident, why would I feel more confident?” she says. “But I get it now. I understand what they meant, because you actually do feel more confident.”
Diana’s journey has also changed how she relates to patients. When someone sits across from her, nervous, half-sure, she’s no longer guessing at what they’re feeling. She knows what it’s like to not know what to expect from a consultation, to overthink implant size, and to wonder what awake surgery will be like.
Now, when she walks a patient through the process, she is able to speak from both sides of the experience.
Diana’s Advice for Anyone Considering Breast Augmentation
So what does Diana tell the women who are still on the fence? It comes down to two things. Find a surgeon you actually trust, and do your homework so you walk in knowing which questions to ask.
She knows results can vary a lot from one surgeon to the next, and to her, the difference almost always comes down to the surgeon and whether they’re a good fit for you.
“You have to make sure you choose the right person to do your surgery,” she advises. “You have to go with someone you trust and feel connected with.”
“Dr. Hakimi is very attentive, and he’s always there for his patients,” she adds.
For all that she believes in the result, she won’t oversell it.
“I’m not promoting surgery by any means. It’s a big surgery. But if you have this idea in your head, there’s a reason you’ve been thinking about it. Just go for a consultation.”
It All Starts With a Conversation
For Diana, the hardest part was starting the conversation. If you’re considering breast augmentation but still have questions, a consultation with Dr. Hakimi can help you understand your options, your candidacy and what kind of result may fit your body best.
Call Hakimi Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA, at 424-239-5201 or request a consultation online to start your own journey today.
Experiences, results and recovery timelines vary. Diana’s story reflects her personal experience and may not represent every patient’s outcome.
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Patient Journey