Tongue splitting

TONGUE SPLITTING FAQ

What is tongue splitting?

"Split tongue", "tongue forking", "forked tongue", "lizard tongue", and so on are all terms for tongue splitting, the central bifurcation of the tongue. To put it simply, the tongue is cut down the middle, and is induced to heal in that state, leaving a forked tongue.

Generally speaking, no major change is made to the tongue and no tissue is actually removed. The median fibrous septum that centrally divides the tongue is cut, separating the two lateral halves of the tongue. Done carefully, very little damage should be done in the process.

What are the benefits of tongue splitting?

On a quantitative level the benefits are probably none. It's hard to come up with a solid objective reason but, really, we can say that not only about most bod mod activities, but most elective activities that humans undertake in general.

At its most base, tongue splitting is cool. It looks neat. It feels neat to have in your mouth. It's fun to just flip the halves around. In the erotic arena, the benefits, with practice, should be obvious for both men and women — although like most body modification activities, it's not a silver bullet. If you're "good" it can make you better by giving you a better tool, but if you don't know what you're doing it's not going to instantly solve your problems.

Many people as well report on the spiritual benefits of tongue splitting. It's very hard to explain; it's one of those "you just had to be there" stories. To put it simply, the tongue is one of the most immense nervous structures in your body. We have incredibly fine control over it and we receive massive feedback from it. When you dramatically alter its structure and free yourself of the physical boundaries your biology imposes, in some people it triggers a larger freeing on a spiritual level.

Does tongue splitting have a historical basis?

Absolutely — tongue splitting, to some a pinnacle of "Khechari Mudra" practices, is a part of Hatha and Kumbhaka yoga where the tongue is split and then "milked" until it is long enough to be turned back inside the mouth and flipped up to the epiglottis. It then is used in breathing excercises, the goal being to seal the body's energy leaks and become aware of only the internal thus entering a catatonic state, crossing back and forth between death and life (note that Westernized versions often omit, and even censor, the splitting).

Yogis that practice these rites believe that it allows them to be absorbed "into God" (that is, becoming conjoined with the universal soul, an experience that is also common in suspension and other body rites).

In addition, Kaliya and other characters in Hindu mythology are depicted as having split tongues, as are characters (often evil) in various other faiths. Most obviously, Christian mythology bestows a forked tongue upon Satan.

What is the modern history of tongue splitting?

While many of us in the body modification community had heard "friend of a friend" rumors, it wasn't until mid 1997 that confirmed photos and articles were published, including a man in Italy that had his dentist do it, Dustin (featured in Fakir Musafar's Body Play) who split her own tongue, Tim Cridland (the Torture King) who'd also done his own, and Erik Sprague (the Lizardman) and myself who were split by an oral surgeon. In 1997 several dozen more people had the procedure done, and by 1998 it was snowballing. By 2000 it had become almost commonplace, as heavy mods go.

Is there a downside to tongue splitting?

Short of immediate risks involved in the procedure itself, the only downside to tongue splitting is that small-minded people in the mainstream may be afraid of it and lash out in obvious negative ways at proponents of tongue splitting.

What are the risks of the tongue splitting procedure?

Assuming the procedure is done by a doctor the risks are negligible and complications that arise in a controlled medical environment can typically be dealt with easily. Doctors will provide you with paperwork explaining the secondary risks such as reactions to anesthesia and so on.

If doing the procedure outside of a controlled medical environment, loss of blood is the single largest risk. The tongue contains major blood vessels, and without proper training and tools, amateur practitioners may find themselves unable to control blood loss. In these situations a visit to the hospital emergency room is not at all unheard of.

Damage to nerves and glands in the tongue is also possible, although unlikely if the split is not extremely deep and remains centered. Care must also be taken not to accidentally damage glands in the base of the mouth.

Infection and scarring are certainly possible as well, but they are very rare.

Is speech affected?

Once the split is healed there should be essentially no change in speech. Some people report a very minor lisp, although it tends to be so negligible that only those who are very acquainted with you will notice. Only in the most extreme (deep) tongue splits is there a noticeable lisp, and I have never come in contact with anyone who reports speech artifacts that have degraded their ability to communicate.

Is taste or eating affected?

Barring the extremely unlikely possibility of nerve damage, taste should not be affected in any way. Taste buds regenerate weekly, and their basic layout is not affected by the split, nor are any of their nerve pathways. In addition, the formation of the bolus does not appear to be affected by tongue splitting.

Is tongue splitting reversible?

By removing the skin on the inside of the split and then suturing the tongue back together, it can be induced to "go back to normal". I know of no one who has willingly undergone such a procedure, although it has been forced on some people by new military regulations in the United States. Tongue splitting reversal is far more painful than splitting and takes far longer to heal and seems more prone to complications.

Because of scarring and other damage done during the reversal operation, permanent damage to tongue mobility is not unheard of, leaving a shortened and narrowed tongue that is not as nimble, which of course damages speech and other activities. In addition, nerve damage from the reversal procedure is more likely than from the initial split and there have been reports of damage to both touch and taste sensations in tongue splitting reversal procedures.

Reversing a tongue splitting is strongly discouraged — don't split your tongue if you think you might have to reverse it in the future.

Who can do a tongue splitting for me?

The three choices are having a surgeon do it for you, having a non-medical practitioner do it for you, or doing it yourself. In my opinion having a surgeon do it should be considered your best option, although if you are seeking the modification for self-discovery purposes, you may find doing it yourself extremely rewarding.

What are some of the methods used for tongue splitting?

The four primary methods are tie-off, scalpelled, cautery, and lasered.

Tie-off is where the future split is compressed with increasingly tight loops of thread, slowly cutting through over a period of days or weeks. Scalpelled splits are cut using a scalpel or other blade, and potentially followed up using a cautery tool to control bleeding. In other cases a cautery tool may used to perform the cut itself, essentially branding the tongue in half. Lasered tongue splits, almost exclusively the territory of medical professionals, use a surgical laser to relatively bloodlessly split the tongue in half.

How is a tie-off tongue splitting performed?

A tight loop is tied, parallel to the split along the center of the tongue, so one end of the loop rests on the front inside of a central tongue piercing and the other end rests on the front/central tip of the tongue. This should be tied as tight as possible and tightened as time goes by. It will slowly work its way through the tongue, hopefully leaving a split tongue in its wake.

A majority of people who undertake this method give up part way through. It requires a high degree of pain tolerance over an extended period of time. The glands in and around the tongue tend to swell and speech and eating are usually affected during the splitting. Many people opt to snip through the last part of the tongue using a blade.

How is a scalpelled tongue splitting performed?

To put it simply, the tongue is split down the middle using a blade. This is generally very bloody and this bleeding can be difficult to control. Many practitioners choose to use cautery either from electrocautery pens to control bleeders, or by using traditional branding tools. Others use chemical or herbal means to control bleeding and to assist in healing.

Prior to the split, many practitioners insist on a well healed large gauge tongue piercing being in place. If there is no existing piercing of this type, a large gauge piercing is often made by performing a piercing using a #11 scalpel along the grain of the muscle, followed by a taper and 2ga or 0ga jewelry. That should heal within a month or so, setting a good foundation for the split.

Other practitioners choose to use a "clamp and cut" method similar to the home meatotomy technique, although it is definitely not that common. Using a long clamp, the tissue to be split is compressed to paper thin and left that way for 45 minutes. When the clamp is removed, the cut is made along the center of this compressed tissue with the hope that it will provide a "seal", minimizing or eliminating bleeding.

How is a cautery tongue splitting performed?

A cautery tongue splitting is similar to a scalpelled tongue splitting, but a heated blade or tool is used to burn the split through the tongue, hopefully cauterizing the tongue in the process, eliminating bleeding. This technique of course also has a great deal of potential to do peripheral damage, and may be outrageously painful.

How is a lasered tongue splitting performed?

After applying anesthesia, using a laser the practitioner will first create a guideline along the top and bottom of the tongue. They'll then slowly cut through the tissue until the tongue is fully bifurcated, cauterizing the wound as it cuts — this is usually about a fifteen minute process at most. In general there is little to no blood during this stage. The only bleeding tends to be during the suturing, which of course pierces uncauterized tissue.

Which method should I use? Which is best?

Officially I strongly urge people to seek the assistance of a legally qualified medical professional. That said, there are benefits to each method. All I can tell you is educate yourself fully and make your decision with a clear head. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to tell someone you're not comfortable with having them work on you.

Is suturing important?

Suturing pulls the top skin of the tongue down into the split, leaving a more "natural" and rounded appearance that many people prefer. While similar healing often occurs without suturing, in other cases a non-sutured tongue may heal with a somewhat "flat" inside that looks artificial rather than natural.

How painful is tongue splitting?

Tongue splitting, both on a procedural level, and the first 48 hours of healing can be exceptionally painful, pain being a relative thing of course. When done by a surgeon pain control medication will be prescribed and anesthesia will be used for the procedure.

How long does tongue splitting take to heal?

Tongue splitting takes about as long to heal as tongue piercing does. Primary healing (where you can talk and eat relatively normally) takes between one and two weeks, and full healing is usually complete within one month.

Can I control both halves separately and independently?

Both halves of a tongue split contain distinct muscle groups that, from an anatomical and nervous point of view are separate and thus can be controlled independently. The degree of control is largely related to practice. Some people have independent control naturally and others have to spend a lot of time in front of a mirror before they master it — it's like learning to wiggle your nose.

How far back can the tongue be split?

The tongue can in theory be split back to where it meets the base of the mouth. Attempting to split past that would endanger muscles that really shouldn't be split, as well as glandular structures in the area. Note again that once the tongue is split to approaching this point that there will be some speech artifacts, usually minor.

Is tongue splitting permanent?

Some re-growth (where the tongue slowly heals back together) is normal, and in the case of short (1/2" or less) splits, total closure is not unheard of. Even in deeper splits, if care is not taken to combat re-growth, 50% closure is not uncommon.

What can I do to stop re-growth?

To put it simply, keep the wound open and it will heal open. The smooth body of a cotton swab can prove useful for this task. It should be done regularly — the body heals much faster than you'd think. In addition to the re-growth that will occur during the initial healing, there will be some closure over the first year or so. Short of re-cutting, there's not a lot that can be done to stop that.

Many people have found that using a well healed large gauge (4ga - 0ga usually) tongue piercing can act as a anchor for the split. Because the piercing is surrounded by solid tissue that does not by nature want to seal itself, if this tongue piercing marks the rear of the tongue split, closure may be all but eliminated.