Tounge Tied Surgery/anesthesia

I don't have that surgery experience but my 2 year old was put under for ear tubes. Aside from a slight "drunkenness" for the first 20 mins or so after they woke him up, he had no side effects whatsoever. He's never had any problems since then that could be anesthesia-related either.

Talk to your dentist. We had our baby's cut by the ped. and he did it wrong. My 6 year old needs it done (noticed by the Dentist) and he said if it is in the mouth you should go to the Dentist because Ped. aren't trained in the mouth as well as Dentists.

My son wasn't tongue tied, but had the other procedure you mention...the membrane between his upper lip and gums clipped. The dentist did it in the office, with just local anesthetic. It was super easy and quick. It only bled for a few minutes and by the time the novocaine wore off he didn't feel a thing.

Hi, M..
I had both procedures done with my youngest son at about 20 months or so. Is the frenulum a frenotomy or a frenectomy? One is more invasive, the other is just a simple snip without anesthetic (actually, I had that done at age 5 and still remember it). The labial frenulum (upper lip) is sometimes done in surgery with stitches (my son's was), but many dentists perform this *in office* with a laser, hence no bleeding, no anesthesia. I would encourage you to call your dentist, or several, and find out who has a laser in their office and performs these procedures, and then schedule a visit to have them assess. An oral surgeon might be a good choice, too, but sometimes using a dentist is enough.
Good luck!

While my son did not have this procedure done, he was put under anesthesia when he was only 18 months old at Children's Hospital in Denver. I was completely freaked out, but I knew it was the only way to remove a ring he had swallowed (long story). In hindsight, I would recommend that if they want one of you to be in the room when he goes under, that it is the person who can be the calmest. Most pediatricians are extremely careful with anesthesia. My son came out of surgery groggy, but fine. I hope that his operation goes well without a hitch.

Hi M., I used to work for an ENT doing surgery scheduling and this procedure is actually pretty common. The most severe are infants that are only a day or two old that would come in and the procedure would be done in the office. When shildren are given anesthesia in surgery, it is a very low and tolerable amount. It is scary to see your child all tubed up and being put under but you have to be strong for him so he will not be scared. Most anesthesiologists will let you come back until they are put under, some even let them hold a security for comfort. Ask a lot of questions. Write them all down and see if you can fax them over and have someone call you back that can answer all your questions. Your questions are not dumb nor are they a waste of time. Good luck to you!

Hi M.,

We have actually dealt with the same situation with our daughter now 6. When we went through this I think she was 3. We did just under the toung not the upper lip. Our DR just used a local anesthetic. Everything went great. She hates the dr now. She still sees him but she was fine it was a very quick snip and everything healed fine. It may be a little different with a 5 yr old. But you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I hope this helps you. If you have any further questions feel free to ask. Good Luck!

M.

Hi M.,
I used to work for a dentist (until I had kids), and we did that procedure at least 6 times in the 5 years that I worked for him. A couple of the times, there was no anesthesia involved at all. Just a quick snip and it was over. The "numbing shot" would have hurt a lot worse than the actual snip. I would call your dentist and get a consultation. Call around and talk to other dental offices too. I don't think I would have our pediatrician do it. Good luck.

-Shellie