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Ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie, has been blamed for speech and feeding problems in young children. Recommendations to perform frenotomy in infants to improve breast-feeding are controversial. During this 1-year study, lactation consultants at a U.S. Navy medical center examined newborn infants (age, <30 days) who had difficulty breast-feeding or whose mothers had nipple pain to identify infants with clinically significant ankyloglossia. An assessment tool for lingual function and appearance was used to grade ankyloglossia, and ear, nose, and throat surgeons confirmed these assessments.
Among 3025 newborns, 58 (2%) were judged to have ankyloglossia and were randomized (at a mean age of 7 days) to undergo frenotomy or a sham procedure. During th…