number of body modifications including tongue splitting. He pleaded guilty in 2019 to causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Cases of body modification artists illegally possessing and injecting local anaesthetics for tongue bifurcation procedures have also been recorded in England. In March 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled tongue splitting to be illegal in England and Wales when performed by a body modification practitioner for cosmetic purposes. Notable cases Dustin Allor, a 19-year-old body piercer in the U.S., split her tongue in 1996 herself. Not having any reference of this being done before, she came up with the tie-off or fishing line method. In 1997 she was featured on the cover of Fakir Musafar's Body Play Magazine. A sideshow performer named Erik Sprague, known professionally as The Lizardman, had his tongue split on July 18, 1997. His procedure was performed by oral surgeon Dr. Lawrence Busino, using an argon laser, in what was the first truly professional tongue split. A new deeper split was done on October 3, 1997. This was the third modern tongue bifurcation and the first one done using a laser. See also Forked tongue The Lizardman References Body modification Tongue