| Lingual frenectomy | |
|---|---|
| Intervention | |
| ICD-9-CM | 25.92 |
A lingual frenectomy is a form of frenectomy associated with the tongue.
The removal of the lingual frenulum under the tongue can be accomplished with either frenectomy or frenuloplasty. This is used to treat a tongue tied patient. It is rumored that, immediately after this minor oral surgery, the tongue can often dramatically extend out of the mouth which it could not before do.[1] However the references here measure the difference in "millimeters" and it may actually shorten the tongue, depending on the procedure and aftercare.
Domenico Maceri claims that some South Korean parents have their children undergo frenectomy "which lengthens the tongue by about one millimeter" in the belief they will pronounce English better.[2] Critics regard the surgery as unnecessary, as Koreans born in the United States have no trouble distinctly pronouncing /r/ and /l/.[3] The process has also been used in reverse to aid native English speakers communicate with a native accent. In 2011, Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones made headlines by obtaining a lingual frenectomy to aid her in speaking the Korean language without the inhibition of an accent.[1]
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