Manifestations of short tongue tie and how to treat it clinically

  Short lingual tether is an abnormal length of lingual tether, which is a congenital malformation. It not only restricts tongue movement and prevents breastfeeding and chewing, but also may cause ulceration of the lingual tether when the lower front teeth erupt, resulting in pain and crying in the child, and delayed treatment will affect the normal pronunciation of the child. The anatomical structure of the lingual ligament is very simple. Most of it is a fold formed by folding two layers of mucosa, and a small part of it contains some muscles, so it is less difficult to operate. Our experience through clinical treatment observation is that short tongue tie should be treated early and timely in the neonatal period. Early treatment should pay attention to pre-treatment screening, and for those who have systemic or local conditions that are not suitable for early treatment, they should not be forced, but can be treated accordingly and then treated in due course. The advantages of early outpatient surgery are: less cost, shorter operation time, faster recovery, and the risk of anesthesia can be avoided. Early treatment can prevent the child from being left with a psychological shadow due to fear.  In pediatric patients or patients undergoing reoperation, surgical release of the contracted muscle tissue under the tether (mainly the chin and tongue muscle) is required, especially for those who have had poor results after early outpatient surgery. Absorbable sutures are used to close the wound, which can avoid painful removal of sutures and shorten the hospital stay.  Postoperative care should be taken to maintain oral hygiene to promote wound healing, avoid eating coarse food for 1-2 weeks after surgery, and regular postoperative outpatient follow-up visits should be made to strengthen voice guidance training.