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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