A growing chorus of medical experts is questioning the widespread use of surgery to treat tongue-tie — a condition in infants that can affect breastfeeding — with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) raising concerns about potential over-diagnosis and unnecessary procedures. Last month, the AAP warned about the rising practice of using scissors or lasers to address tongue tissue in infants who have difficulty breastfeeding. The report, published on July 29 in Pediatrics , encourages pediatricians and other medical professionals to consider nonsurgical options to address breastfeeding problems.
The report cites a study that suggested that less than half of the children with tongue-tie characteristics have difficulty breastfeeding. The study also highlights the lack of research into the effectiveness of tongue-tie surgery for improving breastfeeding outcomes. “All of us have a little piece of tissue under our tongue and for some people, it’s a little tighter.
For infants, it’s important because if it’s really tight it’s hard to extend the tongue beyond the gums. Babies need to move their tongues beyond their gums to be able to get the milk out of the breast,” explained the lead author of the report, Dr. Maya Bunik, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.
“It also causes some pain in moms when they’re breastfeeding and also makes the baby less efficient. But in general, it usually doesn’t cause too .