Lip tie / tongue tie

[Missymoo345]

9 week old has lip, tongue and cheek tie.. I’m booked in to get this sorted but a bit nervous about the after care / pain he will be in. What was your experience with this?

obviously regardless I’ll be getting it done as it’s causing him some issues we think!

Hi, my daughter had a tongue tie. It was a very quick procedure and aftercare was literally a bit of gauze and pressure on the site then breast feed for a while which in theory helps sooth them and in turn acts as a bit of pain relief. We was on our way home very quickly. It definitely improved her feeding.

Not sure if there will be a bit more involved with a tongue/lip/cheek tie?

It's true what they say, it is worse for the parent watching rather then the baby going through it, they won't remember a thing!

You'll likely be told they won't feel any pain [until their front teeth come through]. Having had my own daughter's tongue tie revised at 10 weeks, I can absolutely guarantee this is not/always true, even if some babies are more tolerant of the pain.

Her appointment was early afternoon, and she was definitely still in pain throughout the rest of the day. I can't honestly recall if her sleep that night was any worse than normal. However the following day she seemed fine in herself.

You may (or may not) be advised about the importance of post-procedure exercises. They are paramount, however it is difficult enough to complete them thoroughly and regularly enough to prevent further restricted reattachment as a full grown, comprehending adult. The likelihood of you being able to do them "effectively" on a 2 month old is next to impossible, realistically. Not to deter you from trying but don't be entirely surprised if some restriction remains later down the line. And, this is all dependant on the practitioner releasing the tie completely, which many cannot do due to what it actually entails (more than a single, quick cut).

This is all from experience of both having had my own tongue tie revised and doing a significant amount of research on the topic.

At the moment there’s no issues with my pain and feeding but he is windy and think he’s got silent reflux. I’m worried about him being in pain after / having to relearn how to feed? I’ve read mixed things about this though so any experience would be good!

If you have no latch or weight gain issues I would be reluctant to have all three released (cheek ties are not routinely done so the evidence base is very poor and there are grater unknowns to the release).

Post op pain and nursing issues are not unknown and there can be excessive bleeding and infections. These things are rare but do happen and independent practitioners rarely mention them.

My four children all had ties in different combinations but I only had one of them released. I would have done child number one had I known then as though he fed fine he has quite a restriction. A independent specialist told me child two could never have fed due to his huge lip tie which was a surprise as he had fed for years by then.

In our region it’s the NHS that picks up post division problems as the practitioners who did them aren’t interested once paid, not that their websites and instagram presence ever mentions this.

If you aren’t sure get a a proper feeding appraisal from an ibclc or infant feeding specialist before you make your mind up. Releasing ties can be transformational but there are negatives too.

I think the issue with his latch isn’t so much that it causes pain but air gets sucked in so he’s constantly uncomfortable with wind :( I feel so worried because BF has gone so well otherwise

Who is doing the revision? There is no evidence that lip ties affect bf and no evidence that post operative exercises are necessary. Have a look at www.tongue-tie.org.uk for more information.

That’s why having someone see s feed could be useful. Positioning tweaks are often the solution.

Just bumping in case any other experiences