Wanting to Clip Tongue Tied 12 Month Old

Hi L., my son has it too. I never noticed it until his daycare provider said his tounge is like a heart. He will be 2yrs old the end of the month. It wasn't noticed by the doctors when he was born, so the clip and go was out for me too. I worked with my son, teaching him to stick his tounge out at me and doing whatever I could think of that would make him stretch it out. So far so good! He is speaking clearly. I think my doctor said that they only way to fix it now is to go under general anesthesia. I thought it was going to be a HUGE issue for us and I really thought about doing it sooner, but I just didn't want to put him through that. Sorry that I don't have more useful information, but I hope that my story can help you!

I have no experience with what you are going through. I do have a daughter who was born with special needs, and I absolutely love her ENT. His name is Dr. Mark Volk, and he is at Children's Hospital Boston. He does go to their satellite facilities which might make it easier on you. Dr. Volk is a wonderful, caring person and is an awesome doctor. Best of luck.

I have two children with tongue tie, a 3 1/2 yr old and a newborn. My older's simply stretched out on its own and she has no issues. Her tongue does stick out over her lip now and she eats and speaks normally. We did nothing to it. My little baby has had many of the troubles you mentioned regarding nursing, but we seem to be overcoming this. I did see someone about a clip& go, but they told me hers is too tight for that procedure and that she'd need anesthesia and stitches so we opted to wait. I plan to see someone when she is a little older for a consult as well. It may be worth getting a second opinion on whether or not the stitches are necessary. My understanding is that it is not about age, as much as it is the type of tongue tie he has. The tighter and thicker the tongue tie, the more blood will be involved, so the more likely you need surgery. Also, my husband had a tongue tie as a kid (where my kids get it!) and had his clipped when he was old enough to remember it. He had it done as a clip and go and said there was little to no pain or blood, even at that age! Good luck!

We had a very similar issue although the nursing never improved. It was actually pretty devastating for me personally because I was unable to continue nursing him...the pain was just excruciating. The whole thing stemmed from a hospital mix-up...long story, but the full story can be read at http://breastfeeding-news.nursingnotions.com/?p=22.
Anyway, we had his tongue clipped when he was just a couple/few weeks old. It was absolutely nothing. He sat in my lap while the MD put a little liquid local anesthetic under his tongue. Then she just made a tiny little snip with surgical scissors. She held a gauze pad there for a minute and off we went. No stitches.
You may want to get a second opinion about the procedure itself. Also, my son was under a month old so I'm not certain about the differences your child would experience being 12 months old. I would also hate to wait until it does have an impact on his speech.
Good luck to you.
raelynn
http://www.kidzcomfort.com

My son had a frenectomy when he was about 13 months old. We were actually going in to have tubes put in his ears and adenoids out. It went very well - I think it is worth it for you to have it done.....especially because your son seems to have a more severe case. It may have been uncomfortable for a couple of days but that was it. He's great now!

L.,

I am sorry for what you are going through! I have no experience with a tongue tied baby. I do have a bit of experience with a child that needed medical care (beyond shots and such.) My oldest (4 at the time) broke his arm 2 months ago. It was agony (more for me it turned out than for him.) The worst part of it was when they were trying to put in his IV before putting him under to set his arm. I literrally thought I would pass out. The irony (or blessing) of the whole thing is that he does not remember that AT ALL!!! And as soon as he had that cast on...past his elbow, he adjusted with no problem, as if he was born with a cast on his arm. He did everything any child would and could (except the monkey bars). I know this is extremely hard on you, but kids are very resilient and your son will honestly get "over" it way before you do. So I would suggest listening to the Docs and doing exactly what they recommend....it will benefit your son in the long run.

Good luck!!

H. Z. (SAHM 5, almost 4 and 15 month old boys)

Hi L.!
I have to give you credit for nursing your son who is tongue tied, for 12 months! My eight year old was born with this condition. If I hadn't already nursed my first two children (now 21 and 18) I would have thought it was normal to be in so much pain nursing. I kept visiting the lactaion dept. of our hospital where he was born, and FINALLY a seasoned lactation nurse saw the problem was his tongue. He was already going on 2 months old with a very sore mom! We saw an ENT who did it right there in his office. At first he cried, but the Dr. told me to stay in the room as long as I liked and to nurse him right there. I did, he calmed down, and never another peep! No anesthesia. I ccouldn't believe it...that night he was moving his tongue around in circles. Like...I'm finally free! I know it would have interfered with his speech as he got older. It was the best thing we ever did with him, as now he is in 2nd grade and has some ADHD issues we are getting under control without drugs, just diet and supplements. If he had to deal with such a speech impedement as well, he really would be struggling. If you would like, I can look up the name of his Dr. I have to get my kids ready for school or I would do it right now. I just read your request and wanted to let you know there is hope. They gave me the option of anesthesia, but I said no. Dr. said it will hurt for a few minutes, but it will be much easier to get over than the anesthesia. Plus, he did it right then and there. It may be a bit different because your little guy is 12 months old, but I would trust this Dr. to do what is best for him. I'll get back to you later this afternoon. Good luck!

I am a 46 year old mom of 4 kids. 21, 18, 8 & 6. (Same hubby :) eveyone asks!) Married 23 years. My kids are great and loved by all, esp. us!

Hi L.,
My son had to have surgery at 12 months as well but it was for an undecended testicle. I was told I could wait as well, etc. but my husband and I decided to go ahead with the proceedure. Of course, I was a nervous wreck about the anesthesia, surgery, etc. All went perfect! Before going into surgery, they gave him a little "drink" and that relaxed him. I handed him over to the nurse (of course, crying). In recovery, he woke up like NOTHING HAPPENED. I couldn't believe it. He was standing in his crib that night. I stayed in the hospital overnight with him and he also had a great night sleep. I am not giving you advice on the surgery as I am not familair with the procedure but can tell you the experience with the anesthesia, etc. we had was excellent and so glad we had it done and over with. He is now 17 and everything is perfectly fine. I feel for you as I can only imagine the stress you are going through wondering about speech, etc. I would definitely go see a few specialists in this area and you should get a general consensus of what is best. Let them know your concerns as well and let them guide you in making your decision. Good luck and please let us know how you make out. You and your baby will be in my thoughts and prayers!

Hi!

I am a dental hygienist, and see this procedure done all the way up through the preteen years. I would just wait for him to get a bit older.. the procedure itself isn't too invasive. We usually refer to an oral surgeon to correct the problem.. yet speech may not be affected. If it was my daughter I would wait it out a bit.. good luck

Hi L.,

I work at a hopsital as a child life specialist and part of my role is to help prepare the children and families for surgical procedures. I have seen many children come in for tongue tie release. The oldest I have seen is 5 or so and these children do have speech issues. The younger the better. The procudure itself takes minutes so you son would not require a lot of anesthesia. Our children get their sleep medicine through a mask that covers the nose and mouth and they just need to breath it in. Because it is such a fast procedure, these kids do not get IVs. Oftentimes the babies will cry while getting the anesthesia but it is usually because they don't like the mask being held on their faces. We flavor the mask with sweet smelling chapstick so a lot of times the babies try to lick/eat the mask. When they cry, they take deeper breathes so they go off to sleep a lot faster. We allow one person into the operating room to stay with the child until he/she is sleeping. I think many places offer this now. I don't know where you live but the ENT practice in the area is called ENT Specialists and they are out of Brockton. They are all pretty good but I really like Drs. Shu, O'Brien, and Synder. Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions.

Tongue-tie runs in my family. We have never had any speech or other problems as a result of it. So, when my first child was born I opted not to get it clipped. He's 5 now, and although he doesn't have any true problems, I still wish I had done it! Articulation is an effort for him. (My third baby was also born with this -- we did get her tongue clipped within a week of birth; very fast and no problem at all!) I just found out from my dentist that an oral surgeon can perform a "clip" without general anesthesia. They use a numbing agent. There may or may not be a need for stitches (depends on how severe the cut will be). I would recommend speaking to your dentist. He/she will probably be able to refer you to an oral surgeon and you can meet with them to learn more. (We are about to do that for our son now. I forget the surgeon's name -- in Framingham though.)

Good luck!

Hi, I had my son's done when he was ~6 wks old, same reasons - nursing painful. It was just an office procedure at that time. He has no speech difficulties (10 yrs old) but still cannot stick out his tongue very far (not necessarily a bad thing). As for tolerating stitches, children are so resilient, I wouldn't worry about that, but I would get a second opinion about the general anaesthesia. There may be a more local technique.
Good luck.
A.

I did not read your whole post only because I am on my way out. But I just wanted to let you know my son was tongue tied at birth but he was able to breast feed okay. So they decided to wait to have it cut. His pediatrician said it is a good idea to have it cut young (he was about 3-4 months old) before they start talking because it can cause a speech issue.
We had it done it took like 5 seconds & the doctor assured us that he would not feel a thing because that skin has no nerves in it. They just cry because they don't like being restrained & don't know what is going on. But he was fine and no problems so far he is now almost 22 months old so far no speech issues. Good luck! I advise to get it done now!

Very interesting! As I read through your request I had my response all ready for you... Then I read the 2 responses already given, and here goes...

My now 20 month old daughter had a tongue-tie as well. I was very fortunate to have this diagnosed by the time she was about 6 weeks old. Because she was over 4 weeks old, the ENT that we saw said that it had to be done in the OR under general. She ended up having it done around 8 weeks old or so. She was only under for 10 minutes total and it was a complete success. The surgeon said that she didn't have to cut much--I think 5 mm, but I could be remembering it wrong. It was a tiny snip and they were prepared for 2-3 stitches. She ended up getting one--and that was precautionary because there was absolutely no bleeding whatsoever. She was a little sore, but they allowed me to nurse her immediately following the surgery. What a HUGE difference in nursing. I know an older woman who is a nurse on a maternity ward and she said that years ago they would simply snip the tie in every single baby in the hospital--right away. There was never an issue. Once bottles/formula became so popular, that need decreased so dramatically that they stopped doing it as a routine procedure. Many babies, like myself, have been able to compensate for it for some reason, others--like yours and my little girl--still need the procedure. I experienced the same things that you have written about here (including not getting the tongue to the lips).

I didn't see where you live, but we went through the ENT department at CCMC. We used Dr. Murray--as she is one of the only dr's there who follow this school of thought. She was great--thoughtful, caring, clear to understand. We wouldn't go back and change a thing.

The above was my original reply. However, after having read the first response, it puts questions into my head. Are you still nursing? If so, I'd get it done as soon as you can. If not, now that he is 12 months old, would some type of a dental specialist be the way to go? Tongue-ties are hereditary. Can you find someone in your family or your husband's family with it? Does anyone remember having had it clipped? They may also be helpful in deciding whether to wait or not. My father-in-law had it clipped as a 6 year old. I can tell you that he said it was traumatic for him at THAT age--one reason we wanted it done as early as we could--but it had been interfering with his speech, so it needed to be done.

Feel free to contact me with any questions. I'm sure that I recorded some of it in her baby book, and I'm happy to share any and all of what I know/can recall.

A colleague of mine had her daughter undergo this surgery when she was over a year old (almost 2 yrs I think). It was affecting her speech. All went well and they are happy they went through with it.

Leslie,

I am going through this right now! My four and a half year old is scheduled for surgery two weeks from tomorrow. We didn't realize he was tongue-tied because he was bottle fed due to my work situation and he ate fine. I have always complained though about what a messy eater he is and found it odd that he couldn't do things like lick ice cream cones other kids could. When he started preschool his teachers expressed a little concern about his articulation. We started him in speech therapy and three different therapists suggested he get hsi tongue clipped! We worked through our pediatrician and the therapists for about six months before getting a referral to an otolaryngologist at Children's Hospital. Both my doctor and I were unsure whether we wanted to go the clipping route so that is why we went to such a "fancy" specialist. We wanted to be confident we were making the right decision. The doctor was great and I am really comfortable with my decision now. Do a search online for "short frenulum" or "clipping tongue tie" or other search terms and do some reading about it and then ask for a referral to a specialist to discuss it more. Some of the things we noticed with my son but had never attributed to the tongue until we started this process: excessive drooling, always messy eating (even after I wash him up, I'll come back ten minutes later to find the food drooled out again), unable to stick out tongue, unable to lick ice cream cones or lollipops, unable to make speech sounds especially th or l, unable to make certain "baby sounds" or play with sounds like making raspberries and things like that, etc.
My biggest concern (I'm a teacher) was that when he got older he would still have issues with food and drooling and be teased. When you are in seventh grade, who wants to hang around with the kid who always has food on his face or who goes out for ice cream with his friends and gets it everywhere? As I started reading online I found articles that talked about teenagers who decided to clip it themselves because they couldn't french kiss and elderly people who had to get it clipped to get dentures. All valid concerns.
You always want to give your child every advantage possible in life. Why start out with a strike against him? If you are unsure, talk to a specialist. Whether they say do it or not, at least you will feel comfortable in the decision.
As for the procedure, they told us his tongue tie is very severe. Still it is about a 10 minute procedure. He will have anesthesia -- just the gas like you get for having wisdom teeth out, no iv or anything. From start to finish (putting him under, doing the procedure, heading to recovery) should be 15 minutes. No stitches. After a short stay of about 15 minutes in recovery he should be able to leave. He should be able to eat within an hour or two. I can stay with him the entire time. It is scheduled for Oct. 17th if you want to email me after that for more details on how it went.

Good luck with your decision!
E.

THis is what they dp at my local Hospital in Waterville ME. My daughter had tubes inher ears twice now.. The anethesia is so much better then when we were little and the amount is so TINY. I say do it while he is still little enough to not remember for long.Maybe your hospital will even let you hold him while he goes to sleep. The stitches only last a few days. about as long as he will remember for.

"The oldest I have seen is 5 or so and these children do have speech issues. The younger the better. The procudure itself takes minutes so you son would not require a lot of anesthesia. Our children get their sleep medicine through a mask that covers the nose and mouth and they just need to breath it in. Because it is such a fast procedure, these kids do not get IVs. Oftentimes the babies will cry while getting the anesthesia but it is usually because they don't like the mask being held on their faces. We flavor the mask with sweet smelling chapstick so a lot of times the babies try to lick/eat the mask. When they cry, they take deeper breathes so they go off to sleep a lot faster. We allow one person into the operating room to stay with the child until he/she is sleeping. I think many places offer this now."

Hi L.,

we went through a similar thing with our now 12 month old daughter but she seems to have grown out of it. We also had a frustrating appointment with an ENT at childrens who wanted to put her under general at 3 months. Ultimately we went to a specialist in Connecticut (Dr. Cliff Callahan) but it turned out that the type of tie she has is not ammendable to intervention. I have since heard that there are some specialists at Newton Wellsely Hospital who perform many of the procedures so that is where I will take my next child if we have similar problems. Good luck.

E.

L.-

My neighbors daughter had that and did not get it fixed until she was 12!!! I would do it now. Mainly because your child may have speach issues and that could impeed his speech development, not to mention eating etc. I would get it done sooner rather than later. I know it will suck to have him put under, but I am guessing it is a routine proceedure with minimal complications. I hope it all works out.

E.

I totally understand where your at right now. My DS had the same issues just more movement. My DR at the time refused to cut, no one helped me nurse and I gave up at 2 months. It was very stressful and draining for both of us. I had to use nipple shields just so he could latch. I'm glad you got the help. Right before I stoped nursing I went to the DR for help. He told me formula was just as good and to just formula feed him, nursing wasn't that important anymore! Nothing could have made me felt worse, he also said, "I can clip it right now, here in the office and be done with it. Just know your causing unnecessary pain to your son." It was just what I needed to make me feel guilty, give up and think I was a bad Mom.
When I gave birth to DD and went to nursing classes, they told me a completely different story than the giult trip I got from my DR, who is no longer our DR.
I knew a boy who had it done later in life, it was very painful and he couldn't eat much. It was discribed as worse than having impacted Wisdom Teeth out. (which didn't bother me or a friend but I hear is normally very painful)
So I think it will totally be a discision you make for your family. I would contact the lactation nurse or the lalachia league. Not sure I spelled that right, but they would have more experience with it. Also be able to provide references for your local DR's.

I do not have experience wiht this procedure, but my first child did need to have 3 procedures by the time he was 2 (and my second child needed one at 6 months). All 3 times he was put under prior to the IV. This is what they do at Children's because the IV is difficult to get into small veins. I would recommend doing this as soon as possible if you are going to do it. They won't remember at all and it is amazing how fast they recover.

I understand your concern about general anesthesia as well as surgery of any type on a young child. I would definitely get a second opinion and also meet with a speech therapist. Your town may have free early intervention specialists (call the school department) and also get referrals from your pediatrician. Good luck! You're definitely doing the right thing by reaching out and researching this now!

Hi L.;

You have received some great advise, but I couldn't help but add my own. I would also get it done as soon as possible. My son was also tongue tied and had the procedure done at 2 weeks old in the pediatricians office. Unfortunately the hospital did not pick up on it. Even at 12 months old I would still get it done as soon as possible. It can cause some speech issues as he gets older, and I have an adult brother whom always struggled with a stuttering problem which I can't help but wonder if it is related. Best of luck,

B.

Hi L.,

I also had this problem with our daughter but didn't realize it until she was about 6 mos old. I debated and did lots of research and after talking to Dr. Licameli at Children's in Lexington we decided to go ahead with the toungue tie release. Her tie wasn't really horrible but I didn't want her to have any speach problems and it the procedure is so minor that it made sense to me to do it now and forgo any issues that may cause her many years of embarrassment, etc. So at 8 mos we took her to Children's (we ended up going to Boston), it was hard giving her over to the anesthesiologist but she did so well - she was back with us in 20 minutes and nursing perfectly. No stitches and she seemed perfectly fine except for being tired and hungry since she couldn't eat for a while. I don't believe anyone will do a clip and go on a 12 mo old, I think they only do it at birth and maybe on older kids they'll do a local anesthetic and clip it. I was also concerned about the general anethetic - it's the kind they use at a dentist - nothing is without risk, but it's very safe.

I was so glad we did it, she sticks her tongue out all the time now and she's eating and moving her food around in her mouth easily. Talk to your pedi and see what they say, every kid and situation is different. Trust your intuition and go with your gut!
Good luck!
B.

My son was also tongue-tied. I am not sure how old he was, but when my grandmother noticed and it was pointed out to the doctor, the problem was taken care of right in the office. Clip & Go - as you say. I would think that the earlier it is taken care of, the better off the child is.
Good luck, What area do you live in?

I know that clipping under general is a tough decision, but I would highly suggest doing it, especially since it seems to be quite severe.

My son, now six, also had a severe tongue tie that we didn't know about until age 3, because he had no issues with nursing, and there were other medical issues that the doctors looked at first that would be causing his speech issues. Anyway, his was cut at 3 1/2, under general, but he was also getting tubes put in his ears. We immediately put him in speech, and he had to completely relearn how to speak, AND move his tongue. He couldn't stick it out, lick, move it side to side, nothing. He is now 6, and can speak clearly, but easily slips back into his speech before the clipping which was very lazy and hard to understand.

I know it is a tough decision, but I think you may regret it later not having it done. As far as the stitches in the mouth go, he won't even know they are there! And he will bounce back immediately!

Good luck!

we had this procedure done at birth bcasue the doc said we could wait and see if it works it self out or just have it done. My baby was 3 dys old and it took about 30 seconds. I know how you feel about anestesia but if it helps him in the long run. you should get it taken care of. good luck.

Hi! Just wanted to add our experience: I have a tongue tie and so does my husband. Neither of us ever knew that until our son was born with a really severe one (a tether all the way to the tip of his tongue)and we had the whole thing explained to us. Anyway, nursing was excruciating and he was a little early so it became extra important to us to be able to nurse. He was younger than yours and it was def. scary for him and hard for us to watch, but I'm so glad we did it! Whatever you decide, best of luck! Oh, fwiw, if you're not sure, I'd consider trying to make an appointment and then if you decide against it you can cancel. Most places I know of are booking kind of far out!

My son, who is now almost 40 yrs. old, was tongue-tied at birth but we didn't listen to my mother at the time who said when he opened his mouth to cry as a new born, "That child is tongue-tied." My sister (born in 1942) had her tongue clipped in the delivery room which was a common procedure then and was done in those years by the delivering doctor.
My son was a poor nurser but I stuck it out for 3 mos. He was evaluated by my pediatrician for poor enunciation when we was about 3 1/2 yrs. old and scored low-normal. We took him to the Gebbe Speech Clinic at Upstate Medical Univ. in Syracuse, NY and the Director of the program there said he tested within the normal range and that "we don't clip tongues anymore." He began kindergarten being barely understood by anyone but family and he had become a very good mime. A dentist in Bridgeport, Conn. determined that he was definitely tongue-tied and sent him to an oral surgeon when he was about 5 1/2 to be clipped. Yes, he had general anesthesia but it was over with by the time I got back to the waiting room and opened a magazine. He was uncomfortable for a day or so, the stitches dissolved, and he was fine.
He had speech therapy provided by the school for about a year and improved greatly. His speech is now fine and if anything he speaks too quickly sometimes. When he was a little guy it was extremely frustrating for him not to be understood. He was such an intelligent and sweet child. I remember him trying to tell me a joke and he was so disappointed when I couldn't understand the punch line he just leaned against my leg and said with such defeat in his voice, "Mom, I can't say it."
I think we should go back to clipping in the delivery room! I've told my story to lots of people, including a mom whose son couldn't lick an ice cream cone (she ignored me and he spent YEARS in speech therapy), and I certainly wish I'd been more assertive all those years ago.