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.

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.

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.

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.

My best guess, as of this writing (April 15, 2003), is that somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 people have split tongues.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My tongue was split in 1997 by Dr. Lawrence Busino in Albany, NY using an argon laser. I had no complications from the procedure and have been very happy with my decision.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To be blunt, not only can you not know, but it is a guarantee that there are plausible complications that could arise that no one outside of a medical environment can handle. In addition, there is no official or recognized training for this procedure short of a government-approved medical degree. In my opinion, any practitioner who claims otherwise is lying to you and should be avoided.

That said, I will again emphasize that your best defense is education. The more you know, the better a decision you can make. Interview the practitioner as if you're interviewing a potential employee. If you don't like their answers, don't hire them. If you allow an unqualified person to work on you, you are putting your life at risk needlessly.

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.

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.

For a doctor to do this procedure on you, they will need to know that you are sane, stable, and understand what you're getting yourself involved with. When you talk to the doctor and their staff make sure that you're lucid, friendly, and can converse intelligently and rationally on the subject, including what motivates you. Some doctors may be put at ease by a statement from a therapist or psychiatrist on the subject.

Many doctors may appreciate that you are choosing a safe and responsible route to tongue splitting rather than doing it yourself or going to someone untrained. It may also help to bring this FAQ or to print out some stories and pictures from the people who influenced your decision (many doctors may be unaware that this practice is fairly common on a subcultural level).

Finally, just because one doctor turns you down doesn't mean you can't ask another.

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.

If the procedure is done by an oral surgeon, they can also remove your wisdom teeth. This has the advantage of saving you some money, overlapping the two procedures' healing times, and also gives you a useful "cover story" for employers and others, should you need one.

Oral surgeons usually charge between $500 and $1000 US for these procedures depending on their policies and the type of anesthesia used (general anesthesia for example will of course cost more). Non-medical practitioners (such as body piercers) usually charge between $100 and $500, although many prefer to do it free, both because they enjoy the opportunity and because by eliminating the commercial aspect it can restrain them less legally.

As of this writing, having a tongue splitting is legal everywhere except in the US military, who will either discharge those with tongue splits or force them to undergo surgery to reverse the split, and in Illinois, where it is considered a "doctors-only" procedure. Tongue splitting is generally legal for oral surgeons to perform, although the vast majority of surgeons will refuse to do it either for personal reasons or for fear of professional backlash. In addition, several US states have pending legislation so you may want to check before proceeding publicly.

As far as tongue splitting by a non-medical practitioner, there are no areas that I know of where it is legal per se. That doesn't mean it's necessarily illegal, just "grey", with practitioners facing charges ranging from assault to practicing medicine without a license, as well as related charges for dispensing medication without a license (ie. use of anesthetics). Given that risk, should one choose such a path either as a client or a practitioner, discretion is essential.

Performing a tongue splitting on yourself is generally legal, although in many jurisdictions it could be used to facilitate a psychiatric examination and possible commitment, especially if complications occur.

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.

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.

To do so would risk cutting into the lingual nerves, the lingual glands, numerous major blood vessels, and it is dubious whether full nervous control could be sustained even if done by an oral surgeon. Attempting a "trifuraction" (or more) would almost certainly end in disaster.

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.

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.

Medical school.

If you need to ask, you shouldn't be doing it. Should you choose to do these procedures as a non-medical practitioner, if you act responsibly you will be able to answer these questions for yourself. If you can't answer them, don't do the procedure.

In addition, I must emphasize that offering this procedure commercially to the general public or even keeping photos of it in a publicly accessible portfolio is extremely foolhardy from a legal point of view.

Yes, many people (including historically) choose to combine the procedures, either in unison or in separate procedures.

Tongue lengthening falls into two general categories. In a historical and yogic context the tongue can be genuinely lengthened and enlarged by "milking" it, a process most analogous to forms of vacuum pumping. To simplify, the tongue is held and kneaded and massaged, and then, using a cloth to hold it, it is pulled and twisted it for a few minutes. Over time this will leave a greatly lengthened tongue for use in advanced yogic practices that are well beyond the scope of this FAQ. If you are interested in more on this subject investigate Khecharī Mudrā and Jivhanirlekhan yogic techniques, but be aware that not all practitioners of these arts in the West will espouse these more esoteric practices.

More commonly — so commonly in fact that it's really the only kind one will see in the West — is the cutting of the sublingual frenulum. This doesn't actually lengthen the tongue, but it can dramatically increase its mobility by eliminating the "tongue tied" effect, giving both the illusion and the function of lengthening. Not all people can achieve lengthening using this technique, but more radical procedures cut into the musculature under the tongue further exaggerate the effect.

You'll effectively have a longer tongue and all which that entails.

The procedure itself can damage glands, blood vessels, and muscular tissue in the area. Short of superficial cuts this procedure really should be left to trained medical professionals. There is also a risk of scarring pulling the frenulum back together and shortening the tongue. As a result many practitioners will cauterize the incision or remove a section of tissue making closure/stricture less likely.

As of this writing BME/extreme contains well over a thousand pictures of tongue splitting, tongue splitting procedures, and related activities, as well as about a hundred first-hand accounts written by BME members.