Does Frenulotomy Improve Breast-Feeding?

Ankyloglossia can cause breast-feeding difficulties, and frenulotomy can help.

Tongue tie or ankyloglossia — a short lingual frenulum — has been cited as a possible cause of breast-feeding failure, but little is known about the effectiveness of corrective frenulotomy (a small cut at the anterior portion of the frenulum). Investigators in Australia used objective measures to examine the effects of frenulotomy in 24 mother–infant pairs (mean age of infants, 33 days) with breast-feeding difficulties that persisted after the mothers received professional lactation advice.

Compared with measures taken before frenulotomy, mean LATCH scores (measuring latch, audible swallowing, type of nipple, comfort, and hold) improved significantly at 7 to 29 days after frenulotomy (from 7.9 to 9.4 on a 10-point scale). Mean milk intake (m…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)