Cutting Of Tongue Into 2: Is This Fashion Or Mental Illness

Tongue bifurcation, splitting or forking, is a type of body modification in which the tongue is cut centrally from its tip to as far back as the underside base, forking the end.

Bifid tongue in humans may also be an unintended complication of tongue piercings or a rare congenital malformation associated with maternal diabetes.

Deliberate tongue splitting is a cosmetic body modification procedure that results in a ‘lizard-like’ bifid tongue.

Tongue bifurcation has also been reported as an unintended complication of tongue piercing.

According to Google Trends, search interest in tongue splitting peaked in 2004, and has the highest search interest in South America followed by the Post-Soviet States, then the Anglosphere.

Process

Tongue bifurcation may be done surgically using a scalpel, or cauterised with a laser.[6] It is performed by oral surgeons, plastic surgeons, or body modification practitioners, or done oneself, but only oral and plastic surgeons are licensed. Before splitting with any method, some choose to have a well-healed tongue piercing where the back end of the split is intended to be. This effectively prevents the tongue from healing forward from the back of the cut, which would result in a split that is not as deep as desired.

When using the scalpel method, the tongue is cut down the middle with a scalpel and each half is stitched or sutured along the cut edge. This helps prevent the sides from healing back to each other and also achieves a more rounded and natural look. In some cases the scalpel is heated to provide a cauterizing effect, limiting bleeding.

Cauterizing can be done with a cautery unit or an argon laser. Both burn the tongue in half which closes off blood vessels, preventing much bleeding. If an established tongue piercing is not used as the back end of the split with this method, the tongue has a higher tendency to heal and the procedure must be done again to achieve the depth desired.

The tongue generally heals in 1–2 weeks, during which time the person may have difficulty with speech or their normal dietary habits. Splitting may be reversed surgically by removal of sutures, excision of healed tissue on edges, and re-suturing the tongue together.

Once healed, muscle control of the individual sides can be gained with practice if the split is sufficiently deep. The two halves can be raised up and down opposite each other, spread apart from the other half which makes the split quite apparent and some objects can be grasped onto and held.

Bifid tongues may be concealed if desired by holding the two halves together. When the two sides are held together, it may appear as though there is only a deep crevice in the centre of the tongue.

Complications 

Surgical tongue splitting may result in inflammation, bleeding (including hemorrhage), infection, and injury to nerves or arteries on the tongue.

A bifurcated tongue may also perceptibly alter fricative production. Resulting scar tissue may also affect speech.

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