It’s amazing what you can accomplish in an hour. Today’s trend in office-based medical procedures means you can return from lunch sterilized, lips plumped ála Angelina Jolie, teeth whitened, even have a common foot ailment treated.

These in-and-out procedures have benefits, including minimal to no anesthesia, shorter recovery, convenience and cost. What’s more, with such little time off nobody knows you’ve had anything done, so your business stays with you.

Women can now get sterilized in the doctor’s office without sedation. Essure is an FDA-approved technique in which specially trained doctors insert spring-like coils, called micro-inserts, through the vagina and into the fallopian tubes. The coil has a small fiber that causes the fallopian tube to develop scar tissue, according to Dr. Gil Weiss, OB/GYN with the Association for Women’s Health Care in Chicago and Northbrook.

Once the scar tissue forms, sperm can no longer reach the egg. During the first three months following the procedure, women need to use another form of birth control.

The procedure takes just a few minutes. “We use a local block to numb the entrance to the cervix,” said Weiss. Over-the-counter painkillers may be used before and after the procedure.

While tubal ligation can be reversed, Essure is permanent. An X-ray three months later confirms the fallopian tubes are blocked. With tubal ligation, a woman may be out of commission for several days to a week due to the abdominal incision.

A common foot ailment can be treated over the lunch hour as well. A neuroma is a swollen nerve in the ball of the foot that can cause burning, cramping, numbness or pain while standing and walking.

Surgery has traditionally been used to remove the neuroma, and required weeks of recovery.

A new treatment called neurolytic injections can reduce or eliminate the neuroma in many cases without surgery, according to Dr. Howard Stone, a podiatrist with the North Shore Podiatry Group in Glenview, Lake Forest and Gurnee.

The doctor injects a small amount of an alcohol/local anesthetic solution around the nerve to chemically dissolve the neuroma. Anywhere from three to nine injections are given at two-week intervals. “It’s a wonderful, non-surgical treatment for a common foot problem,” said Stone.

If you want to look better without going under the knife, consider injectable fillers. Dr. Daniel Tresley, an oculoplastic surgeon in Northbrook, uses fillers to instantly plump lips, smooth facial wrinkles and folds, and erase hollowness and dark circles under the eyes. These cosmetic flaws are due to a loss of volume. 

Tresley uses injectable fillers like Restylane or Juvéderm, which are made of hyaluronic acid—a naturally occurring substance in the skin. “They’re very safe fillers, with no allergic reactions,” he said. Collagen, on the other hand, requires skin testing before use to avoid allergic reactions.

After numbing the patient with a local anesthetic, Tresley injects the filler beneath the skin. The change is immediate and can last anywhere from four to 12 months depending on the area. One syringe costs $500 and is more than adequate for lips, he said.

All it takes is one hour to flash pearly whites. BriteSmile whitens teeth 14 shades in 60 minutes.

Dr. Charles Greenebaum, a dentist at the Center for Dental Excellence in Flossmoor, has offered the BriteSmile procedure for seven years. “We like it because you’ve got effective whitening and very few side effects like sensitivity,” Greenebaum said.

With BriteSmile, hydrogen peroxide gel is applied to the teeth and activated by blue high-intensity light. “You get significant whitening immediately,” said Greenebaum. “Over-the-counter products haven’t proven to be as effective.”

How long the treatment lasts depends on what’s consumed afterwards, Greenebaum said. He recommends avoiding smoking and drinking coffee and red wine. Patients can touch up their color every month or two with custom-made trays. BriteSmile costs about $500 and is recommended for those 14 and older.

By Terri Yablonsky Stat

Special to the Tribune