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Date: | Wed, 19 Nov 2003 11:35:39 -0600 |
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Liz asks about a mother whose baby has a very short tongue who has been
advised to have the tongue re-structured. There are several types of
surgery to correct defects of the tongue. Frenotomy is a simply release of
an abnormally short, fibrosed or forwardly located lingual frenulum. There
are surgeries such as frenuloplasty that actually re-section and re-shape
the tongue. This may be what the doctor is describing. I think you could
do a Medline or Google search with that term and find some literature (maybe
in the ENT, plastic surgery or dental journals) that might be useful for the
mother to read. I was unclear on the baby's weight gain. It looked as
though the baby has gained very little weight in the 5.5 months since birth.
Did I read your post correctly? If so, then whatever is going on with the
baby's tongue may significantly be affecting feeding and swallowing
behavior. This could continue to be a problem when solids are introduced.
Certainly abnormalities of the tongue can affect speech and dentition, as
well as potentially contributing (or being connected to) airway obstruction
(apnea, etc). A second opinion is always wise before making a decision
about surgery.
Carmen Fernando, a speech pathologist from Australia has a wonderful book
about tongue-tie that explores more issues about restricted tongues with
regard to older children and adolescents than it does with regard to
infants. Ref:
Fernando, C. Tongue-Tie: From confusion to clarity, Tandem Publications,
Sydney, 1998.
Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
LactNews Press
www.lactnews.com
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