“Dr. Kass did an amazing job fixing my youngest child’s tongue tie. He had been losing weight and immediately started gaining after the clipping. All three of my kids have had ties and I wish I’d taken my older two to him as well – my baby had much better range of motion and nursing was so much more comfortable this time around. Thank you!””
Infant Feeding
When babies can't eat well, it's stressful for everyone involved. Breastfeeding parents may have painful, damaged nipples. Babies may not transfer milk efficiently and may have difficulty growing. Milk supply may be impacted. Bottle feeding babies may leak milk or be unable to create adequate suction. Our feeding evaluations are meant to address parent- and baby-side challenges. We work in concert with IBCLCs (lactation consultants), occupational therapists, physical therapists, and the baby's primary care provider.
Tongue and Lip Ties
Many people are referred for feeding evaluation because their provider suspects a tongue or lip tie. Here are the phases of the hour-long visit:
01.
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Gathering information by weighing the baby, asking questions and listening to your story.
02.
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Examining the baby by feeling their suck and inspecting their mouth.
03.
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Make a recommendation in terms of procedure(s) or other plans. Review the procedure(s), aftercare, keeping baby comfortable, and follow up.
04.
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Do the procedures right there in the room. You can watch -- or not. Baby comes immediately to you afterwards and eats.
We only do procedures when it is appropriate -- when we can identify the problem and when we are reasonably certain that it will be beneficial to the baby or the nursing pair to do so.
“Went in for a feeding/latch assessment and felt like it was very thorough and objective! We decided to not do any tongue tie cutting based off our conversation. I felt very comfortable and confident with him.”
Insurance
Please call your insurance to verify coverage before scheduling.
Procedure (CPT) code for tongue tie release: 41010
Procedure (CPT) code for lip tie release: 40819
Diagnosis code: Q38.1 (tongue tie) and/or Q38.0 (lip tie)
Physician: our group tax ID is 27-3741565. The company’s legal name is Treehouse Family Medicine PLLC, dba Intergalactic Pediatrics.
Elias Kass, ND, NPI 1245546100
Dr Kass is a Naturopathic Physician, so please make sure that these services are covered when performed by a Naturopathic Physician.
INSURANCE SPECIFIC NOTES
Please see https://www.intergalacticpediatrics.com/insurance-coverage for additional insurance information
Late Cancellation Policy
Please do not schedule appointments you do not intend to keep. When you cancel with less than 24 hours notice, or don’t show up for your appointment, you are denying another family the opportunity to be seen and will be billed $100 for a no-show. This cost is not covered by insurance.
Before, during and after...
BEFORE YOUR VISIT
A few days before your visit, you’ll get a text message and/or email to confirm the appointment and begin registration, which covers insurance, demographics, and pertinent medical history.
Confirm insurance benefits. If we bill your insurance, but your insurance does not cover the procedure, or does not cover the provider you scheduled with, you may be billed the entire cost of the visit directly. Time of service pricing is only available if you pay at the time of service.
Collect information about your baby’s weights, including birth weight, lowest weight, and any recent weights, along with the dates they were weighed. This information helps us understand how your baby has been growing. You can provide this information in advance by filling out this form!
Vitamin K is very important for blood clotting. We strongly recommend baby have received vitamin K prior to the visit.
THE DAY OF THE VISIT
Avoid white or precious clothes for either baby or the breastfeeding parent
Arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time to fill out any remaining forms and have your insurance added to the system.
Because of coronavirus circulating in the community, we have modified in-person visits in order to reduce exposure time, and ask that only one well caregiver attend the visit in person (unless that person is newly postpartum and needs assistance).
Baby must eat after the procedure, so please bring whatever your baby currently uses to eat. We have a My Brest Friend nursing pillow for use, and stock Dr Brown’s bottles and preemie and newborn/transitional flow nipples for purchase.
If we decide to proceed with releasing or tongue or lip tie, we will review what to expect and how to do the exercises, then swaddle and position baby, then use special scissors to clip the tie. Then we unwrap baby and help them get started with eating.
PLEASE BRING TO THE VISIT
if you are breastfeeding, please bring whatever you use for breastfeeding, including nipple shields, SNS, etc. If breastfeeding is very challenging or difficult to do while baby is upset, and you typically use a bottle in that situation, please bring bottles and milk or formula as well.
if you are bottle feeding, please bring bottles of expressed milk or formula.
your baby’s weights, including birth weight, lowest weight, and any recent weights, along with the dates they were weighed. You can provide this information in advance by filling out this form!
a pacifier — Soothie, Jolly Pop or Gumdrop type for post-procedure exercises
infant Tylenol (acetaminophen)