Frenulectomy

... a what? My blog just helps improve your medical terminology almost monthly, doesn't it?! :) Noah is having a frenulectomy next Friday, 9/11. He has anklyoglossia or is "tongue tied". Basically, the little piece of tissue that is underneath the tongue comes almost to the tip of his tongue and limits mobility (he can't stick his tongue out)... I noticed this when he was a baby and mentioned it to our pediatrician (who we don't use anymore), who dismissed it. I pointed it out to our Speech Therapist this summer and she said it was bad enough that it would definitely hinder the pronunciation of sounds that he makes and we should definitely have the procedure done. Of course, I did online research which told me that it doesn't necessarily prevent one from speaking but it does hinder the way a sound comes out. I kind of disagree because babies practice making sounds and then they figure out what they can say (da-da-da), well if you can't practice those sounds, how can you learn to say them? We had the consult with Dr. Long on Monday and Noah's frenulum is so tight that he couldn't even get underneath Noah's tongue with a tongue depressor (of course Noah's was fighting us). The procedure is very simple (he compared it to getting tubes in your ears), takes about 10 minutes, sometimes require a stitch or two, and there will be some discomfort for a couple of days. So say a little prayer for Noah, even though its not a major surgery, that things go well and that he has minimal pain.