What are the risks of surgery for a tongue-tied toddler?

Question

My son is 22 months old and he is several tongue-tied. We only found out because I have a 4 month old and when he was first born they noticed he was tied, and asked if our other child was.

My 22 month old is having problems with speech, which he is working on with a speech therapist now. It is hard for him to eat, so he just throws food on the floor. We had to go back to baby food. He has lost weight, so now we have him on pedia-sure to help him get what he needs.

He is having the surgery on march 7th 2013.

I wanted to know what are the risks? My husband took him to the appointment and didn't ask ask any of the important questions. I couldn't get off work to go otherwise I would have asked all these questions.

They also found out my son is partial deaf in the left ear but they could not tell us how much of a loss it is. But they know it is not 100 percent because his ear drum was responding. Could this all be connected/related?

He will be retested for his hearing before and after surgery.

What are the odds that my next child will be tongue tied? How do you deal with your baby being so frustrated? Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Both of my children were born tongue tied. My eldest had the tie cut after several months of age, and my youngest had it cut within a few hours of birth. While it may not be directly applicable to you, I was told it would bleed a little but not a lot, and while it's healing my children would be grumpy as it would sting. I saw my youngest getting his tie cut and it just looked like a very thin bit of tissue.

Before my eldest had her tongue tie removed she had great difficulty feeding, but afterwards starting feeding well.

Neither of mine have or had hearing troubles that we know about.

Best of luck with your son.

Answer 2

First of all, if you haven't signed the consent form yet, use that opportunity to ask the surgeon all the questions you need to feel comfortable. Your consent is required for a reason. Make sure it is an informed consent.

The main risk with any surgery is infection. This is not as trivial a risk as it might sound. My uncle died from a surgical infection, and my daughter and a coworker came very close. However, a wound on the surface is much easier to keep clean. Make sure to follow the post op instructions religiously.

Although surgery can be scary, just keep in mind that the condition being corrected is worse. I know several children who had surgery for being tongue tied, and none of their parents regret it.

Answer 3

My son is 2 in half and he had his tongue clipped today. He has been in speech therapy for 3 months before surgery. After his surgery his tongue was still num and as we was leaving Cody was eating a red popsicle and I noticed he was bleeding so I rushed him back inside. Cody was bitting on his tongue eating it. I didn't know what to do . So I popped my boob in his mouth so he would suck and not bit down. Cody breastfeed till he was 2 so he likes it. If this happens to you. 1st thing no red or purple popsicle so you can determine if he is bleeding 2nd keep him sucking And make sure if he goes to sleep he or she is not bitting on tongue. Hope this helps. I am taking it min by min.

Answer 4

Both of mine were born with tongue-ties, neither severe but in the smaller/earlier born one enough to interfere with nursing. Both had them cut within a week or two of birth, with very little pain or bleeding.

From what the second surgeon explained (the second was a bit less severe so we had more conversation about whether to do it or not), tongue tie is something that in an infant is very easy to correct (scissors) but as they age, more blood vessels form which mean it is harder to do and requires general anesthesia eventually. You'd want to talk to the doctor about specifically where in this range a 22 month old fell; there are very different risks between the former and the latter process.