Frenotomy for tongue-tie in newborn infants

Frenotomy for tongue‐tie in Australian children, 2006–2016: an increasing problem

“…There is no universally accepted definition of tongue‐tie or ankyloglossia, but it may be described as a congenital abnormality of the lingual frenulum that limits the range of movement of the tongue, interfering with feeding or speech 1 , 2 . There is little consensus among health professionals about how tongue‐ties should be managed, 1 and little reliable evidence for the benefits of frenotomy 2 . A range of techniques are employed to treat clinically significant ties surgically (frenotomy or frenectomy), including scissors and laser surgery.…”

What does the world think of ankyloglossia?

“…The diagnosis and treatment of ankyloglossia have been controversial for millennia . Despite the relatively recent advent of various diagnostic tools designed to assess ankyloglossia severity , the natural history of ankyloglossia and the outcomes (both long and short term) of infants treated with frenectomies remain unknown . In the last decade, the number of infants diagnosed with ankyloglossia (and thus, treated with frenectomies) has increased by >70% in countries such as Canada .…”

Tongue‐tie and frenotomy: what evidence do we have and what do we need?

“…Systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials have concluded that surgery for ankyloglossia reduced maternal pain caused by feeding, but the design flaws, selection and assessment biases, inadequate controls, and limited follow‐up periods in the included trials dampen confidence in the findings 4 . ‐ 6 Several case series reports have concluded that frenotomy improves breastfeeding, but problems with patient selection, the lack of controls, and measuring treatment effects mean that assessing the benefit of surgical treatment is difficult 5 …”