Tongue tie 'snip' surgery on babies to be scrutinised; new guidelines as minister warns of 'unnecessary focus on the condition' 3 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM 5 minutes to read Nicholas Jones is an investigative reporter at the New Zealand Herald nicholas.jones@nzherald.co.nz@nickjonesnzer Surgery on babies with tongue-tie will be more closely scrutinised after some health workers reported an increase in the controversial procedures. Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says some children need the minor surgery, but warns there may also be "unnecessary focus on the condition", with anecdotal reports of possibly unnecessary procedures. The Ministry of Health has released the first national guidelines on tongue-tie, amidst long-running debate about how best to treat a condition affecting 5 to 10 per cent of babies.