Other Throat & Mouth Treatments

On this page we cover:

• Frenectomy
• Lingual Frenectomy
• Excision Mucocele
• Surgery for Drooling

Frenectomy

ENT for Children may recommend a frenectomy (release of the frenulum), a frenulectomy (excision of the frenulum) or frenuloplasty (excision of the frenulum with closure), for children who suffer from ankyloglossia (tongue tie). The procedure involves the removal of the frenum, which is the muscular attachment between the two tissues that prevents the tongue from moving.

Lingual Frenectomy / Frenulectomy / Frenuloplasty

If your child is a newborn, the procedure is done awake in the office. A small incision is made through the frenulum, which will free the tongue from the floor of the mouth. Your child should be able to nurse immediately afterwards.

For older children, this procedure is done in the operating room under general anesthesia. The frenum is typically injected with a local anesthetic, and is released using sharp instruments. The resulting defect is closed using absorbable sutures. This is done as an outpatient procedure, and recovery is usually between 1-3 days, depending on the age of the child. Breast-feeding afterwards in older children may be difficult for the first 48-72 hours and bottle supplementation may be needed.

Excision Mucocele

ENT for Children may recommend excision of a mucocele from your child’s mouth. Mucoceles may occur on your child’s lower lip but may also appear on the soft palate, floor of the mouth, cheek and tongue. Most mucoceles disappear after 3 to 6 weeks. Your pediatric ENT specialist might recommend surgical removal if your child’s condition lasts for more than two months or if the lesion bleeds increases in size or makes it difficult for your child to talk or chew.

We remove mucoceles under a general anesthetic in the operating room as a day surgery procedure. The surgery requires removal of the cyst with its overlying tissue, and the underlying minor salivary gland. Absorbable sutures are placed to close the wound. Recovery averages 1-3 days with some mild swelling to the area where the mucocele was excised.