Tongue Tie Surgery and Recovery – My Greatest Regret

I recently read a post from The Asianparent which talks about a common condition called Tongue Tie. This has brought emotions which I had been trying to bury for the past 2 years. I brought my son for a tongue tie release surgery when he was only two months old. It was the worst decision in my life. I probably would never be able to forget the ordeal for the rest of my life.

For parents who are unfamiliar with the condition, let me extract some key points from the article. If you want to skip the standard textbook write up on tongue tie and read about my personal experience, scroll down.

What is Tongue Tie

A tongue tie or ankyloglossia, is a condition where a short thick tissue connects the bottom of a tongue’s tip to the floor of the mouth. This restricts the movement of the tongue, making it difficult for a baby to stick his tongue out, breastfeed, swallow or sometimes even vocalise.

Symptoms of a Tongue Tie

Here are some most common characteristics of this condition in a baby:

• Has lip blisters, accordion fan of the tight upper lip (line under his nose) or upper lip tucks inwards

• He has a two-tone tongue, vaulted palates, dents in the tongue, tongue curl, frenulum pop (underneath the baby’s tongue)

• Difficulty lifting his tongue or moving it from one side to the other

• Inability to stick tongue out, especially past the lower teeth

• The tongue is heart-shaped at the tip

• Problem latching or breastfeeding

• You get reoccurring mastitis, blocked ducts, and sore or cracked nipples because the baby is chewing and not sucking

• The baby is attached to your breast for a very long time

• He makes a ‘clicking’ sound while trying to feed (try different feeding positions)

• Feeding means spraying into your baby’s mouth (milk ejection reflex)

• Your baby hasn’t gained much weight post birth and is hungry all the time

Complications in a Tongue Tie

A tongue can largely affect a baby’s speech, breastfeeding patterns and overall dental development. But there are more issues that tag along with this condition.

• Difficulty in speech: If left untreated, a tongue tie can also interfere in your child’s speech development. For instance, he may be unable to make sounds that start with ‘z,’ ‘s,’ ‘d,’ ‘th,’ and even ‘I.’ He may also be unable to roll his tongue to clearly pronounce the word ‘r’.

• Poor oral hygiene: For a child born with a tongue tie, cleaning the lower gum can be quite difficult. This can ultimately lead to collection of germs, tooth decay and sometimes even gingivitis (inflammation of gums). A tongue tie can also lead to a gap between the two lower front teeth.

• Restriction of movement: Apart from the two aforesaid complications, a child with a tongue tie may also feel restricted in activities such as licking (food or even his lips), kissing or even playing a wind instrument.

Treatment for a Tongue Tie

Frenotomy: In this procedure, the thick and short (lingual frenulum) that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth is cut. It is usually pain-free and may or may not involve local anesthesia. The doctor may examine the lingual frenulum and then use a numbing medicine in that area.

Then, using a sterile scissors, he may cut it from the middle. This procedure is usually quick and mostly blood-free since there are fewer nerve endings and blood vessels in that area.

Frenuloplasty: This is another procedure that is carried out if the frenulum is too thick and needs or if any additional repair to the area is required. It is usually performed under anesthesia using sterile surgical tools. After the frenulum is cut, the wound is closed with dissolvable sutures.

Post the treatment, tongue exercises maybe recommended so the child gets used to the free movement.

I Shouldn’t Have Fall for It

What was written above was exactly why I decided to let him undergo the release surgery. He was feeding properly. He had problems latching and drinking from the bottle. He had mild tongue tie. After intensive Googling, I assessed that it is better for him to undergo the tongue tie release so that he can feed better. It won’t be that painful anyway as most articles have said so. I WAS SO WRONG!

I wrote the following 6 days after he went for the surgery on 19 Oct 2016.

Possibly the Worst Decision I’ve Made

My 2.5 mth old boy underwent his tongue tie release on 13 Oct 16 at Gleneagles Hospital. I went to a doctor specialised in this surgery and underwent frenotomy.

The procedure was fast but painful to watch. With NO anesthetic, the snip was done around 10 sec after the frenulum was clamped.

Frenulum clamped to reduce blood flow for a few seconds and then it was snipped.

For the next 5 mins, the doc’s finger was in his mouth, under the tongue stopping the bleeding. His nonchalant tone began to irk me. It’s just another snip for him but it’s a huge decision every parent makes.

My son was crying all the way during the 5 mins, looking at me as if calling for help, but I couldn’t do anything…

After the 5 mins, I carried him out for his milk. Do you believe in all the online articles that there will be minimal bleeding? That’s all crap! He spat a whole handkerchief of blood before he took his milk staring blankly.

Needless to say, he was scared! He needs to be hugged to sleep for the rest of the day. Crying and screaming when he wakes up.

A week has passed. His physical wound is healing well. But I’m not sure if he has recovered psychologically.

He used to be able to sleep quietly for a couple of hrs during the day but since then, he is frequently startled.

I stopped there because I couldn’t continue to pen down my thoughts anymore. Why did I subject a cheerful boy to such an ordeal? It took weeks and weeks for him to go back to his normal self.

How is He Now?

My son is coming to 2.5 years old in a few months. And you know what? His lingual frenulum has reattached. He doesn’t talk as early as her sister. He is just beginning to speak short sentences of 3 to 4 words. He has a little trouble with pronouncing the ‘f’ and the ‘s’.

Does that bother me? Not anymore. He is as happy and chatty as can be and I love every word he says. He recently also showing off his tongue clicking skill to everyone in the family. He is as proud of his “achievement” as he can be.

Dear parents, if your child’s tongue tie isn’t too serious, please, DO NOT repeat my mistake. Think twice, thrice, eight, ten times. Don’t totally believe in what you read online.

Kids are perfect in their own unique ways.