Tongue surgery

thumb | 220x124px | right | Patient’s tongue with glossectomy A glossectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the tongue. It is performed in order to curtail malignant growth such as oral cancer. When only a portion of the tongue needs to be removed, the procedure is called a partial removal, or hemiglossectomy. When the entire tongue needs to be removed, the procedure is called a total glossectomy. A midline glossectomy is a surgical reduction of the size of the base of the tongue (posterior two-thirds of the tongue), sometimes used to treat sleep apnea.