No breastfeeding for 6+ hours before posterior tongue tie surgery?

[Momma Moo Martin]

My cousin just had her first baby about 1 month ago.  They have had a difficult time breastfeeding for a plethora of reasons that my cousin has been diligently working through.  Now they have discovered that the baby has a posterior tongue tie.  The doctors are going to put the baby under in the local Children's Hospital OR for the procedure this Thursday. 

Here's the thing: the doctors told my cousin that that baby couldn't nurse for 6 hours before arriving at the hospital and that they would probably be at the hospital for an hour or two before they started the procedure.  That's 8 hours!  One doctor told my cousin to give the baby Pedialyte or apple juice if she wanted to in the beginning of the 6 hour fasting.  

Does anyone have experience with breastfeeding a baby before a surgery?  I just can't imagine a tiny, premature 1 month old going 8 hours without anything!  >(

[Youngfrankenstein]

I was under the impression that breastmilk counted as a "clear liquid". I would google it and maybe someone else will weigh in here.

[Momma Moo Martin]

Thanks, youngfrankenstein.  I thought that too but the paperwork and verbal instructions these doctors have given to my cousin specifically say no breastmilk.  I just don't understand it.

[Youngfrankenstein]

I sometimes find paperwork like that funny.  From my hb mw instructions to my dh's vas. paperwork....they often will say if you ask "Oh that's not big deal."  It just seems liek rarely does the paperwork speak for everything they're currently telling people.

[KateDavies45]

If he's going under general anesthesia then I imagine he'll be intubated, which would make his eating moot. I'm guessing it's the same reason hospitals tell pregnant moms no food in labor....because once upon a time they did NOT regularly intubate for G.A. and the risk of aspirating stomach contents was much higher.....

My DD was a premie and both the LC and her pedi said that breastmilk was a clear liquid...perhaps your cousin's hospital doesn't know? I know it's a mixed bag depending on who you ask.

[PatioGardener]

My little guy had surgery before he was 2 month old and could not nurse for 4 hours before the surgery.

no time to look up info now, but there is great medical literature out there saying 4 hours is safe.  try kellymom for references.

[OSUvet]

Not sure about the fasting part, but my son had his posterior tongue tie clipped by a dentist in his office. It took less than 5 seconds, bled just a few little drops, and I nursed him immediately after. Im not sure if all ties can be corrected in this way but it was no big deal without general anesthesia.

[homemademom]

Yeah, I'm not sure she's looked, but she might find a dentist willing to do it. We had a pediatric dentist do a laser procedure for our ds's posterior tongue tie.  He numbed it with a cream, then novicaine, and the laser cauterized it, so no bleeding. General anesthesia is overkill for this kind of procedure, imo. I don't know if your cousin is interested in looking at another alternative.

[GoGoGirl]

Why are they putting the baby under?  DD had her posterior tongue tie clipped at 6 weeks, and actually again around 8 weeks.  We saw an ENT.  I think she did some kind of topical numbing thing, and then it was just a quick snip.  It bled a tiny bit and we nursed right after.  I would be very, very wary of unnecessary general anesthetic, especially for a little baby.  General is scary!

Actually, when we were looking for an ENT to clip DD's tongue tie, one of them that we saw told us that we would have to do nothing by mouth for (I think) 2 hours before the surgery.  That was a deal breaker for me.  My DD was already losing weight because she couldn't transfer milk effectively--I was not going to not feed her for hours.  Plus I just knew how miserable she would be.  I'd done enough research that I knew it wasn't necessary, so I found another doctor.  Has she sought a second opinion?

[ShwarmaQueen]

It has been my experience that GA isn't necessary for a frenectomy on a 6 wk old. 6 wks, at DS (full term, big baby) had his done in-office, numbed with oragel. I held him in my arms the nurse steadied his head and the doc did the clip, all in about 8 seconds. There are many risks in GA, I would ask her to ask her doc why it is necessary.

And yes, breastmilk is ok because it is absorbed very quickly, unlike "food" (formula, etc).