'Plastic surgeons are concerned about me. This is why I'm insulted.'

The nation’s leading plastic surgeons have dubbed me a reckless patient who puts my health at serious risk in the rush to go under the knife.

I’m a 45-year-old journalist and recently had my eyes done. The blepharoplasty removed the hooded lids that had been bothering me for ages. I had the operation in Sydney: It took two hours under local anaesthetic at a Bondi Junction clinic with a doctor and two nurses.

It wasn’t something I did on the fly, but the underlying narrative around people like me who take the plunge into cosmetic surgery has morphed into something like this: If there’s an eye job going cheap with a reputable doctor, I’ll squeeze it into a week’s annual leave. I love a lunch hour with a side of Botox, even better if it’s at the hairdressers. Anything to wipe away the years quickly and cheaply.

Why not pursue instant beauty when I can have a wrinkle-free face in less time - and often less pain and cost - than a trip to the family dentist?

But this month, our cosmetic captains decided to get tough on "hasty" patients like me.

The industry’s peak body The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) called for a mandatory two-week cooling off period before any cosmetic surgery “so the patient can inform themselves of all possible risk and consequences of the procedure”.

This "Think Over Before You Makeover" campaign bundles people like me, who have relatively safe tweaks in Australia, with those who jet off to much higher risk clinics overseas for a nip and tuck with Dr Death.

But they should know this: As patients, we are not one and the same.

After my blepharoplasty last  month, I believe a mandatory waiting time is unnecessary - insulting even - for patients booking surgery in Australia.

As if I hadn’t thought long and hard already about the risks, my doctor’s credentials, the cost  and the outcome of changing something so personal as the appearance of my eyes. After months of research, two more weeks would not have made any difference to my decision.

I had my blepharoplasty surgery within two weeks of seeing my doctor – the clinic’s own cooling off period - and only after my doctor and his staff  were satisfied they had answered all my questions.

There were no upfront costs including the consultation, and like most clinics a deposit - $800 on my $1800 procedure - was taken after a surgery date was set.

Yes, it was a quick turnaround for a life-changing decision, and it allowed me to be back at work within a week. After months of checking doctor reviews and trawling medical forums there was no need for me to "Think Over Before You Makeover”.

I am part of a majority, patients who love the results of their nip and tuck and haven’t compromised health or hip pocket to achieve the outcome.

I'm a very different case from the ones described by Canberra plastic and cosmetic surgeon Dr Vladimir Milovic, who can be in their first consult with a doctor at 2am to discuss breast augmentation or a facelift in Thailand, Mexico or the Philippines, and be operated on a few hours later.

"Many of the patients haven’t investigated the qualifications of the person undertaking the procedure or the facility where it is being done.

“It’s like a conveyor belt with patients lining up and the results of those operations can be disastrous.They then come back to Australia needing several operations to fix the botched surgery.”

But the ASPS can’t impose a cooling off period for Aussies undergoing super cheap, and super risky surgery overseas - it would be impossible to regulate and laughed off by the doctors performing the operations.

As Dr Milovic also points out, Australian plastic and cosmetic surgeons are among the most highly trained and regarded in the world. Most already have cooling off periods for patients, often up to three months.

With Aussies now spending $1 billion on cosmetic surgery each year, you can be sure someone you know has had a cosmetic tweak or two.

And you can bet they thought long and hard about it before they did.

Would you ever get plastic surgery? Let us know in the comments.

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