Ankyloglossia

DEFINITION.—An abnormal attachment or adhesion of some portion of the tongue to some portion of the surrounding structures of the mouth.

SYNONYM.—Tongue-tie.

PATHOLOGY AND MORBID ANATOMY.—The ordinary form of tongue-tie consists in an abnormal development of the frenum of the tongue, the anterior vertical portion of the duplicature of mucous membrane which connects the lower surface of the raphé of the tongue with the floor of the mouth. The tongue cannot be extended beyond the lips. Suction is interfered with in some cases. If not remedied spontaneously or by surgical interference, mastication and articulation may become seriously impeded.

Other forms of ankyloglossia, congenital and acquired, possess special interest from surgical points of view mainly.

DIAGNOSIS.—Inspection and digital exploration readily reveal the nature of the restriction in the movements of the tongue and the size of the frenum.

PROGNOSIS.—The prognosis is good, the difficulty being susceptible of relief by division of a portion of the constricting frenum. Accidents have been reported following the operation, the occasional occurrence of which should be borne in mind. These are hemorrhage, which is not dangerous except in the prolonged absence of some one competent to restrain it should it be extreme; and retroversion of the tongue, an accident which has been known to prove fatal by occluding the orifice of the larynx (Petit).

TREATMENT.—Slight cases rarely need operation; but when the movements of the tongue are restricted by a very short and deep frenum its division becomes necessary. The operation is usually performed with scissors, the ranine arteries being protected by means of a fissured plate of metal (Petit), such as has long been used as a handle to the ordinary grooved director of the physician's pocket-case. The cut should be more extensive in the lateral directions of the fold than antero-posteriorly. After-treatment is rarely necessary, unless annoying hemorrhage is produced by movements of suction. Compression between the fingers, maintained for a number of minutes, suffices to restrain the hemorrhage in most instances. When this fails, recourse may be had to cauterization with the point of a heated iron or some other form of actual cautery.