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| Necessity | In general, the most common case of tongue-tie can be found when the breast feeding is difficult. When breastfeeding is not done properly, the baby's frenulum is checked at the hospital, postpartum care center, or lactation counseling room. Most of the patients that I did the surgery for are newborns sent from nearby postpartum care center or breastfeeding counseling centers. When the newborn is breastfeeding, the tongue should move like a wave and stimulate the mother's breast to induce the ejection and flow of breast milk. When the baby has the tongue-tie, the movement of the tongue is not free, so the breast milk may not come out well. In this case, the breast milk does not flow well, so the weight may not increase well. There may be cases where the mother's breasts is painful or even wounded as the baby is sucking hard to get the adequate amount of milk. As this is how the shortening of the frenulum affects the breastfeeding, it will be easier to breast feed if the surgery is performed sooner. However, if the procedure is performed after the newborn period, the habit of sucking remains that it will not improve immediately, it may take some time to get used to it. |
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| Determinant | If there is no problem with breastfeeding, it does not necessarily mean that the amputation is required even if you have frenulum adhesion. If there is no problem with breastfeeding, what is the case with tongue-tie surgery? In most cases, surgery can be done if there is possibility that there might be the problems with the pronunciation later. The reason why the frenulum affects the pronunciation is that the tip of the tongue must touch the roof of the mouth when making a specific pronunciation. However, this is only the possibility until the child try to pronounce it himself. It is difficult to guarantee that the pronunciation problem will occur or not occur with 100% certainty by looking at the frenulum tract in newborns. Generally, if the tip of the tongue becomes "3" shape or does not come out of the lips, there is high possibility that the pronunciation problem may occur, so surgery is often performed. However, the pronunciation problem is not entirely caused by the frenulum tract. Sometimes, there are parents who bring their 4-5 years old children for the consultation because of their poor pronunciation. In some cases, it is caused by the problems with the frenulum, but there is some cases where it is caused by the problems other than the frenulum. In this case, you may need the help from speech therapy instead of the tongue-tie surgery. |
| Side Effects | In general, there are no side effects other than bleeding for the procedures peformed during the newborn period. Occasionally, there may be a risk of infection, but since it is not on the internal organ, the risk of infection is rare. However, there may be occasions where re-adhesion or fat fills up in the treated area. In order to prevent the re-adhesion, it is recommended to breastfeed frequently. This is because the babies move their tongue the most when they are breastfeeding. In most cases, even though the re-adhesion occur, it will not be attached just like the before that it is often observed. However, it is safe to check again after a week because there may cases in which revisional surgery may be required in very rare cases. |
| Surgical Period | The surgery for the frenulum adhesions can be done any time. However, after the newborn period and generally older than 3-4 years of age, the cooperation may not work properly, so there may be cases where anesthesia should be performed. In the case of baby prior to the speaking, if the surgery is performed beforehand, there will be no pronunciation problem. However, if the surgery is performed after the pronunciation problem has already occurred, consider the fact that the pronunciation correction may have to be performed seperately due to the already formed habit, even if the frenulum is cut. We always tell every patients that the best time for tongue-tie surgery is when the child is younger. From the baby's point of view, the advantages of surgery at a young age include less bleeding, less pain and less memory of the surgery. |
Our Min & Min Clinic Daechi Branch provides the procedures for children under the age of 3. For older children who can cooperate well, prior consultation is required, so please inquire at the hospital.
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