MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ben Wheeler,MB ChB(Otago) DCH PhD CCE FRACP Paediatrician, Associate Department of Women's and Children's Health (Dunedin) University of Otag MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: All tongues have a frenulum, which is a small band of tissue that helps connect them to the floor of the mouth. Tongue tie (or ankyloglossia) is when this frenulum causes restriction to the movement of the tongue, and can interfere with successful breastfeeding in infants. This may be improved with an operation to cut the frenulum of the tongue (frenotomy). Internationally, tongue-tie diagnosis and treatment has increased substantially (reported at over 10-15% in some locations). This has led to growing concerns of potential overtreatment. The surgical treatment is often discussed as a minor surgery with little risk, but there is growing awareness this may not be the case. There is a paucity of studies examining moderate to severe complications following frenotomy. Therefore we aimed to determine rates of moderate to severe complications of tongue tie procedures presenting to hospital-based paediatricians in New Zealand, and describe this population. (more…)