Tongue tie proceedure at Blackrock Clinic

italodisco

Hi Folks,

My little 7 month old princess has a fairly bad case of tongue tie and we are told its at least another 9 month wait on the public list.

We don't have health insurance but our family have said they will help with costs so we got in touch with a clinic in Blackrock clinic run by a Dr Siun Murphy who specializes in this area.

I just wanted to ask has anyone been to her with the same and if so can they recommend her ?

Thanks for your time folks !

italodisco

Bump

Digs

My daughter had her tongue tie released when she was two weeks old. Dr Murphy came highly recommended at the time but unfortunately she was on holidays, we were in a rush so couldn't wait for her.

Dr Murnane in Tullamore lasered it (and a lip tie he found at the time) and he was absolutely fantastic!! She recovered well and we got great advice and follow up from Dr Murnane, he emailed me a few times after the procedure to see how she got on, told me to contact him day or night with any worries. I was so upset at the time as she was so tiny so my Mam came in with us but the nurses and Dr Murnane were excellent and so comforting.

Sorry, I know you didn't ask for that info but I wanted to let you know my experience with the procedure itself was good. At the time anyone I asked only had good things to say about Dr Murphy but keep Dr Murnane in mind if you can't get an appointment in Blackrock!

Staplor

Got my kids one done in a local GP, it's just a matter of snipping it with a scissors.

Obviously there's a load of skill involved. Google it, we were in and out in 20 minutes, one follow up check and that was it.

BOB2017

italodisco wrote: »

Hi Folks,

My little 7 month old princess has a fairly bad case of tongue tie and we are told its at least another 9 month wait on the public list.

We don't have health insurance but our family have said they will help with costs so we got in touch with a clinic in Blackrock clinic run by a Dr Siun Murphy who specializes in this area.

I just wanted to ask has anyone been to her with the same and if so can they recommend her ?

Thanks for your time folks !

I haven't been to her but have to have my little girl looked at and my GP recommended that I go to Dr. Murphy

wuffly

We didn't use Dr Murphy but had the procedure done with Dr Justin Roche in Cashel he also has an in house lactation consultant which was part of the fee. Our little fella was much younger (5wks), the procedure is quick and they get over it very fast. The only reason we didn't go with Dr Murphy was that she was on hols, she was recommended by our LC first. best of luck with it.

All in all

We went to Justin Roche in Clonmel for both our children and was excellent. As the previous poster said they have a lactation consultant there who spent ages making sure my wife was comfortable feeding and gave her, her mobile no. also. Also there is physio to show you the exercises that need to be done. The procedure had changed in that time from a scissors the first time to a laser the second time (3.5 years ago and 11 months ago).

Our girls were younger - about 3 weeks and under a week.

Loveinapril

What sort of price are you looking at for this procedure?

Staplor

Loveinapril wrote: »

What sort of price are you looking at for this procedure?

Couple of hundred quid for a gp, no clue for specialists.

Digs

Loveinapril wrote: »

What sort of price are you looking at for this procedure?

Dr Murnane was €250 with health insurance. That was the initial price for the tongue tie and he charged no extra to laser the lip aswell.

jlm29

Dr Roche is €250 with health insurance and €350 without.

wuffly

Dr Roche was 180 for consult and 100 for the procedure(scissors not laser) 15 months ago.

jlm29

wuffly wrote: »

Dr Roche was 180 for consult and 100 for the procedure(scissors not laser) 15 months ago.

But he's built a fancy new clinic since then, so I suppose he's had to up his prices to pay for it!

Five years ago, he snipped my sons the day we were leaving the hospital, when he came to check him. I assume he billed my health insurance, but I never checked it out. This time, he came to check him, and there was no chance he was snipping it for us, unless we rocked up with our chequebook

wuffly

It does seem to be big business these days. That's quiet a jump in fees! He did do tongue tie publicly as far as i know but we wouldn't have qualified for that anyway.

Apparently years ago midwives did a sweep under the babies tongue, baby finger with a sharp nail as soon as they were born to break the membrane/tongue tie when it was still thin and weak and this removed the majority of tongue ties. Skill is long gone now unfortunately.

jlm29

wuffly wrote: »

It does seem to be big business these days. That's quiet a jump in fees! He did do tongue tie publicly as far as i know but we wouldn't have qualified for that anyway.

Apparently years ago midwives did a sweep under the babies tongue, baby finger with a sharp nail as soon as they were born to break the membrane/tongue tie when it was still thin and weak and this removed the majority of tongue ties. Skill is long gone now unfortunately.

They told me when I was an inpt that the wait publicly is 5 months. I couldn't have fed for 5 months, it was too painful. I've heard that too. Sure they'd be afraid to do it now in case someone sued them!

tevey08

HI OP,

We also got the procedure done by Dr Justin Roche, Would highly recommend him. Was 250 with out VHI and 350 without. I would advise getting it done as soon as possible as your child is still young and doing the after treatment yourself with them might be easier now, We opted for the laser and maybe 2-3 weeks and his mouth was perfect again.

DublinCJM

We got our baby done privately in Camden Medical Clinic by Alan O' Reilly who came recommended by the midwife in Holles Street. http://tonguetieclinic.ie/

It costs €180, which is basically €80 to do an assessment, as he won't do the procedure unless he thinks it's required. If it's required and he performs it, it's another €100 on top. So, €180.

That was with a scissors, and it took about 30 seconds for the procedure, and we were in an out within 15 mins. He'll give you exercises to do with your baby for 4 weeks afterwards.

Our little one was fine 10 mins after it was done (stuck her on the boob), although she was a lot younger than yours (she was only about 6 or 8 weeks old).

Good luck

Loveinapril

DublinCJM wrote: »

It costs €180, which is basically €80 to do an assessment, as he won't do the procedure unless he thinks it's required. If it's required and he performs it, it's another €100 on top. So, €180.

That's the price I thought it would be around. I am hoping to exclusively breastfeed so am trying to foresee any problems before my baby arrives. Money is tight so I want to have posible tongue tie money set aside!

DublinCJM

Loveinapril wrote: »

That's the price I thought it would be around. I am hoping to exclusively breastfeed so am trying to foresee any problems before my baby arrives. Money is tight so I want to have posible tongue tie money set aside!

My little girl was struggling a bit to breastfeed and was hurting my OH a lot, so that's why we got it done.

If there's no interference with the breastfeeding, then I don't think he will do the procedure, so it's good that the fee is split into assessment and procedure, even though it's all done in one go.

The paediatrician will be able to tell you when they do their examination just after the baby's born. We didn't even notice it at first.

blackbird86

Got it done by Siun in Blackrock clinic two years ago. It was grand, as others have said it's a very quick procedure, my little one was fine within a couple of minutes and no side effects. It was very successful for us, the problem had mostly been pain while feeding and the relief was fairly immediate.
As far as I remember it cost about 200 & 100 of that was covered by my health insurance so I only paid 100 on the day.

I actually got a phone call from them a few months ago asking a few follow up questions - whether it had helped and how long I ended up breastfeeding for afterwards.

Bacchus

Another vote for Justin Roche in Clonmel. We got an appointment at quite short notice with him (called Tues/Weds, was booked in for Sat) and he has an excellent setup. Now, we were left waiting a looooong time which, with a 3 month old, was rough going between constant feeds and not able to nap with all the noise (doors banging, kids crying, etc.) so it was stressful but I put part of that down to us being squeezed in as the last appointment of the day. Justin and his team were great and the in house lactation consultant alone was worth what we paid.

Worst part about the whole process was the exercises that followed for a month. Our little one did NOT enjoy us poking around in her mouth every 4 hours (or was it 6 hours... can't remember, that all happened in the haze of the first 6 months).

Actually one thing to maybe watch out for (as a complete aside) is that your little one might get seriously clingy and attached to mom. Before the procedure, she'd happily cuddle up with either of us and go to sleep for either of us. It took us two months to get her back comfortable with me. Not sure what you can do to prevent that type of situation occurring but maybe just be prepared that it might happen.

JoeyRed

We used Dr Murphy 3 years ago and she was great. Our daughter was 9 weeks at the time and we got an appointment within a week of enquiring. It was the answer to our feeding problems!

ally_pally

We went to Dr. Alan O'Reilly in the Camden Medical Centre. As another poster said, he was €180 and it was such a quick procedure. My girl was 3 weeks old when she had it done. The worst part of it was she hated being held down but I think the procedure itself was fairly painless. I'd highly recommend him.

DublinCJM

ally_pally wrote: »

The worst part of it was she hated being held down

I had the responsibility for doing that, it was heart wrenching, luckily it was all so quick....

ally_pally

DublinCJM wrote: »

I had the responsibility for doing that, it was heart wrenching, luckily it was all so quick....

It was my husband's job, I don't know if I'd have managed it. She cried so hard at that but I was so surprised there was no escalation in her crying when the snip was done. It seems to be a fairly painless procedure.

waterfaerie

Loveinapril wrote: »

That's the price I thought it would be around. I am hoping to exclusively breastfeed so am trying to foresee any problems before my baby arrives. Money is tight so I want to have posible tongue tie money set aside!

If you're trying to foresee any problems, it might be best to set aside enough for Dr. Roche in Clonmel. With some babies, like mine, the tongue tie is very thick so it's much safer to use the laser than the scissors. The IBCLC who referred me to Dr. Roche said the scissors would be much too painful for my baby and there would be a high risk of bleeding, so the laser was necessary.

I know he's more expensive but I also think you get a lot for your money with him in terms of the lactation consultant support and the follow up care. He spent a long time on the phone to us outside of working hours one evening and he kept in touch by email for as long as we needed afterwards.

Loveinapril

waterfaerie wrote: »

If you're trying to foresee any problems, it might be best to set aside enough for Dr. Roche in Clonmel. With some babies, like mine, the tongue tie is very thick so it's much safer to use the laser than the scissors. The IBCLC who referred me to Dr. Roche said the scissors would be much too painful for my baby and there would be a high risk of bleeding, so the laser was necessary.

I know he's more expensive but I also think you get a lot for your money with him in terms of the lactation consultant support and the follow up care. He spent a long time on the phone to us outside of working hours one evening and he kept in touch by email for as long as we needed afterwards.

Thanks for that, but I am in North Dublin so couldn't imagine making the trip with a newborn. I am hoping there are no issues but this thread is a great source of information.

waterfaerie

Loveinapril wrote: »

Thanks for that, but I am in North Dublin so couldn't imagine making the trip with a newborn. I am hoping there are no issues but this thread is a great source of information.

I'm in North Co. Galway and had to go to Clonmel when she was 3 weeks old. It wasn't as bad as I thought but baby and I could have both done without the added stress of that journey!

Yeah, hopefully you won't have any tongue tie, never mind an extra thick one. I don't know how common it is.

ally_pally

We had Justin Roche recommended to us also but couldn't justify the long journey from Dublin to Clonmel with a three week old. We had planned on going with him anyway and leaving the tongue tie release until she was a bit older and able to handle the journey but at my little girl's 2 week check my GP said we should have it done as soon as possible as her tie was pretty severe. So, Dublin it was.

Kathy22

We got my little guy done by Suin Murphy. She was great and it was over in a few seconds. There was a lactation consultant in the room as well to check for tongue tie and you stay in the room with her to ensure baby feeds effectively. He was a little older at the time (around 3 months) but he was fine after a few hours. We did it as he was a very pukey baby. It definitely calmed down afterwards and I would go back to her if needed again.

Beanybabog

I went to Siun and it was €300 total I think- €200 was covered by health insurance. We went when she was 8
Days old. Those public waiting lists are a joke. By the time you see someone it's too late- like most tongue ties are mild but interfere with breastfeeding only. I have one myself that was never cut. It's not even that expensive- I mean new parents might not have the money but it's not as if it would be a massive cost to the HSE to facilitate it early enough to actually make a difference to breatfeeders

jlm29

Beanybabog wrote: »

I went to Siun and it was €300 total I think- €200 was covered by health insurance. We went when she was 8
Days old. Those public waiting lists are a joke. By the time you see someone it's too late- like most tongue ties are mild but interfere with breastfeeding only. I have one myself that was never cut. It's not even that expensive- I mean new parents might not have the money but it's not as if it would be a massive cost to the HSE to facilitate it early enough to actually make a difference to breatfeeders

It's turning into an industry though, and it's not in the interests of the professionals who have the expertise to be any more efficient in the public system, because it would have a massive effect on their private enterprises

Beanybabog

Perhaps but it's still awful. My LO was referred to the hospital for a test. After 6 months waiting I called and the waiting list was still another 15 months. I went private and discovered I didn't have to pay a penny as I had insurance. Someone once told me insurance is unnneccessary for babies as the public system for kids is great but that hasn't been my experience so far

Beanybabog

Also the HSE can't promote breastfeeding while failing to provide the one little operation that's so commonly needed but has a massive impact on a woman's ability to feed. Waste of time having posters and leaflets for breastfeeding if they're sending us home with babies we can't feed

jlm29

Oh I totally agree, and it's so wrong. But I don't think it will ever change, because the people who should be pushing it, are the very ones who make €€€ from the current system

waterfaerie

Beanybabog wrote: »

Also the HSE can't promote breastfeeding while failing to provide the one little operation that's so commonly needed but has a massive impact on a woman's ability to feed. Waste of time having posters and leaflets for breastfeeding if they're sending us home with babies we can't feed

The paediatrician in the hospital told me he didn't "believe in the whole tongue tie issue". He also said, "Even if there is something there, it's not interfering with her ability to take a bottle, so there's no problem." If I hadn't got a private IBCLC, I wouldn't be breastfeeding now.

They should just stop pretending they support breastfeeding. It's a farce. They're all "supportive" until there's a problem.

The IBCLC told me that, apparently, it used to be routine for the midwives to check for ties and give them a quick snip with a scissors there and then as soon as the babies were born. It stopped happening sometime in the 70s or 80s when there was a big push for formula feeding and they deemed that it wasn't necessary anymore.

Bacchus

waterfaerie wrote: »

The paediatrician in the hospital told me he didn't "believe in the whole tongue tie issue". He also said, "Even if there is something there, it's not interfering with her ability to take a bottle, so there's no problem." If I hadn't got a private IBCLC, I wouldn't be breastfeeding now.

They should just stop pretending they support breastfeeding. It's a farce. They're all "supportive" until there's a problem.

The IBCLC told me that, apparently, it used to be routine for the midwives to check for ties and give them a quick snip with a scissors there and then as soon as the babies were born. It stopped happening sometime in the 70s or 80s when there was a big push for formula feeding and they deemed that it wasn't necessary anymore.

We were actually told that it was still the norm and tongue tie was on our radar as the plan was to breastfeed and this was flagged as a common problem. So of course we assumed all was well except there were awful problems with feeding until finally we went to a lactation consultant... one look and she said, yeah she has tongue tie, that's why you've had so many problems. We've since learned to trust our gut and get a second opinion if we think the first one was wrong.

LirW

The nurse in my GP practice went do Dr Murphy too; she said she paid 450 for her twins because they both had a tongue tie.
My girl struggled a lot with breastfeeding and I had to give up, but it seems like it's the upper lip that's actually tied. Does anyone know if Dr Murphy also does good work with lip ties since that's a bit more complicated than a tongue tie?

I'm on the public waiting list to be seen in Temple street but I'm worried that it could have influence on her teeth. It's very discouraging.

Digs

@LirW your daughter sounds like my first girl. I felt hugely let down by the system on her. Zero help with feeding and only by my own research before having my second daughter realised a lip and tongue tie are what caused huge huge hassle for feeding on #1 etc
When my second daughter was checked out the LC at the time looked at my older girl and said she had a lip and tongue tie. Her teeth have grown with huge gaps we were told it can be hereditary which is interesting as my husbands teeth are very gappy too.

My second daughter had her lip and tongue lasered by Dr Murnane which fixed all feeding issues and her teeth have grown absolutely perfectly.

I know plenty children with lip ties don't have teeth issues but in our case I can't help but feel guilt over my first daughter.

ETA: Dr Murnane is actually a dentist, hence all the talk about teeth.

LirW

I already have a boy and there were no issues, and I didn't understand why she gained no weight. And honestly I got teared apart by the PHN that my baby isn't getting enough from me, it was so disheartening.
When I told the PHN that I suspect a tied lip she asked me how I found out and good job. I just thought "isn't that your job you moron?"

I just hope for her own sake that this gets fixed soon, I'm trying to get onto everyone I can. May I ask how much you paid at Dr Murnane?

Digs

Of for gods sake Lirw, that is just not good enough from your PHN, how annoying for you. I felt we were just left to our own devices completely. Even on my second daughter who's 14 months old I had to hire a private LC and sought out ever ounce of support myself I could. I get the hospital are understaffed but if they want to claim they are pro BF they need to cop on hugely. Otherwise our BF journey would have been out the window

Dr Murnane is €250 with health insurance. I THINk it's €350 without. We went down only thinking it was a tongue tie, he found the lip tie and he lasered both for the same cost. He is extremely pro breast feeding so he and his nurse helped us there. Lasered her, I had to latch her then and wait a while to see how things went.

His follow up was exemplary also. Emails and phone calls and insisted I contact him day or night if we had an issue.

LirW

Thank you so much, I'll definitely wait for a response from Dr. Murphy and might engage contact with him then!

Sienaa

Digs wrote: »

@LirW your daughter sounds like my first girl. I felt hugely let down by the system on her. Zero help with feeding and only by my own research before having my second daughter realised a lip and tongue tie are what caused huge huge hassle for feeding on #1 etc
When my second daughter was checked out the LC at the time looked at my older girl and said she had a lip and tongue tie. Her teeth have grown with huge gaps we were told it can be hereditary which is interesting as my husbands teeth are very gappy too.

My second daughter had her lip and tongue lasered by Dr Murnane which fixed all feeding issues and her teeth have grown absolutely perfectly.

I know plenty children with lip ties don't have teeth issues but in our case I can't help but feel guilt over my first daughter.

ETA: Dr Murnane is actually a dentist, hence all the talk about teeth.

Sorry for bringing up an old tread, but Digs, I had a big gap between my front teeth due to the lip tie when I was a kid. It was released when I was about 10 or 11, new teeth were already in place. And the gap closed afterwards on its own, no need for braces. It not to late for your daughter.

mirrorwall14

Bumping an old thread here but I’m bottle feeding my three week old but I’ve noticed a few things that google tell me may be tie related - milk blister on lips; white on his tongue; Clicking when sucking;

He’s reflux’y and windy so I’m a little concerned if there is a tie that it’s contributing.

Does anyone know how this works if I’m a bottle feeder? I don’t have a lactation consultant and my PHN wasn’t great tbh. Can I self refer to one of these consultants to get properly checked for tongue/lip?

swervring

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Bumping an old thread here but I’m bottle feeding my three week old but I’ve noticed a few things that google tell me may be tie related - milk blister on lips; white on his tongue; Clicking when sucking;

He’s reflux’y and windy so I’m a little concerned if there is a tie that it’s contributing.

Does anyone know how this works if I’m a bottle feeder? I don’t have a lactation consultant and my PHN wasn’t great tbh. Can I self refer to one of these consultants to get properly checked for tongue/lip?

Hi mirrorwall,

My GP referred my daughter to Dr. Siun Murphy, I know she will only accept a referral from PHN/GP/LC but not sure if its the same for others who do the procedure. I was also bottlefeeding her at the time but was trying to get to breastfeeding.



I do think my daughter has a lip tie that was never checked for or noticed by even the specialist who snipped the tongue tie so if make sure to mention that too.

DublinCJM

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Does anyone know how this works if I’m a bottle feeder? I don’t have a lactation consultant and my PHN wasn’t great tbh. Can I self refer to one of these consultants to get properly checked for tongue/lip?

Not sure if there's any difference with bottle / breast regarding tongue tie, somebody else might know. But I posted this last year, and I guess it would be an option for you if you can afford the fee. He will only do the procedure if he thinks it's necessary....

"We got our baby done privately in Camden Medical Clinic by Alan O' Reilly who came recommended by the midwife in Holles Street. http://tonguetieclinic.ie/

It costs €180, which is basically €80 to do an assessment, as he won't do the procedure unless he thinks it's required. If it's required and he performs it, it's another €100 on top. So, €180.

That was with a scissors, and it took about 30 seconds for the procedure, and we were in an out within 15 mins. He'll give you exercises to do with your baby for 4 weeks afterwards.

Our little one was fine 10 mins after it was done (stuck her on the boob), although she was a lot younger than yours (she was only about 6 or 8 weeks old).

Good luck"

mirrorwall14

DublinCJM wrote: »

Not sure if there's any difference with bottle / breast regarding tongue tie, somebody else might know. But I posted this last year, and I guess it would be an option for you if you can afford the fee. He will only do the procedure if he thinks it's necessary....

"We got our baby done privately in Camden Medical Clinic by Alan O' Reilly who came recommended by the midwife in Holles Street. http://tonguetieclinic.ie/

It costs €180, which is basically €80 to do an assessment, as he won't do the procedure unless he thinks it's required. If it's required and he performs it, it's another €100 on top. So, €180.

That was with a scissors, and it took about 30 seconds for the procedure, and we were in an out within 15 mins. He'll give you exercises to do with your baby for 4 weeks afterwards.

Our little one was fine 10 mins after it was done (stuck her on the boob), although she was a lot younger than yours (she was only about 6 or 8 weeks old).

Good luck"

Thanks for the recommendation, I assume I still need a referral for him?

DublinCJM

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Thanks for the recommendation, I assume I still need a referral for him?

No, we just got a recommendation from the midwife in Holles St, but not an official referral.

ally_pally

Hi mirrorwall. We went to Alan O'Reilly as well and I'd definitely recommend him. My GP gave us his name but we didn't need a referral, just contacted him directly and made a booking. If you've any concerns at all, definitely get them checked out.

Bobsammy

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Bumping an old thread here but I’m bottle feeding my three week old but I’ve noticed a few things that google tell me may be tie related - milk blister on lips; white on his tongue; Clicking when sucking;

He’s reflux’y and windy so I’m a little concerned if there is a tie that it’s contributing.

Does anyone know how this works if I’m a bottle feeder? I don’t have a lactation consultant and my PHN wasn’t great tbh. Can I self refer to one of these consultants to get properly checked for tongue/lip?

We got our little girl's snipped by Dr Neville Wilson in Maynooth which I think might be the right area for you. We got it done in September when she was two and a half weeks old. We got a referral from the hospital but I'm sure you could just phone up.