Short frenulum of the penis - symptoms
Congenital short frenulum of the penis is accompanied by pain during sexual intercourse, and sometimes ends in rupture.
A rupture (tear) of the frenulum is manifested by severe pain and bleeding.
First aid for a ruptured frenulum is to treat the penis with antiseptics, apply a bandage and apply ice. You should contact a urologist (surgeon) as soon as possible to treat and suturing the wound and stop the bleeding.
A short frenulum of the foreskin is one of the causes of premature ejaculation (link to the page “premature ejaculation”).
The fact is that tension on the frenulum leads to hypersensitivity during friction, and as a consequence, to uncontrolled early ejaculation.
Sometimes a short frenulum of the penis is combined with a narrowing of the foreskin (phimosis), which makes sexual life even more difficult and causes even more inconvenience.
Congenital shortening or insufficient length of the frenulum is a common pathology, detected in 15-20% of men. The cause of this disease has not been established. The problem is sometimes detected in childhood (sometimes in combination with phimosis), but more often it becomes obvious only with the onset of puberty and the first experience of sexual activity.
Diagnosing a short frenulum is not difficult for a urologist. And the patient himself can often suspect this condition based on the characteristic signs mentioned above (pain on the lower side of the glans during sexual intercourse, downward deviation of the head of the penis during erection). If you wish, you can measure the length of the frenulum yourself from the lower surface of the glans to the shaft of the penis. A length of 1.5-2 cm or more is considered normal.
Reasons for the development of tongue frenulum pathology in a child
The formation of an anomaly associated with a short hyoid membrane begins before the birth of the child. This is preceded by negative factors, which include:
- genetic predisposition;
- infection of the fetus during pregnancy;
- viral and infectious diseases suffered by the mother during pregnancy;
- mechanical injuries to the expectant mother’s abdomen;
- the age of the expectant mother is over 35 years;
- unfavorable environmental conditions;
- the influence of other factors of unknown etiology.
Treatment of short frenulum of the penis
The only treatment for short frenulum is surgery. Surgery for a short frenulum (frenuloplasty or frenuloplasty) involves lengthening or excision of this skin fold. There are several options for frenuloplasty.
Classic frenuloplasty
It involves transverse intersection of the frenulum followed by suturing in the longitudinal direction. The advantage of this technique is its simplicity (the operation takes a few minutes).
Among the disadvantages of such plastic surgery, we can note the unevenness along the edges of the incision, formed from the remains of the dissected frenulum. Although the latter can be easily excised and leveled.
Z-plasty
Professor N.D. Akhvlediani proposed Z-shaped plastic surgery with the appropriate incision shape for the correction of premature ejaculation. This method is advantageous in the formation of a more mobile, elastic scar.
Complete excision of the frenulum
In some cases, especially when combined with circumcision, it is better to perform a complete excision of the frenulum, which permanently eliminates this hypersensitive area.
Laser and radio surgery
In recent years, new technologies such as laser or radiosurgery have begun to be used in frenuloplasty. More and more patients are seeking laser frenuloplasty. Indeed, a laser or radiosurgical knife allows frenuloplasty to be performed almost bloodlessly and very aesthetically.
Regardless of the option chosen, frenuloplasty is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. At the request of the patient, it is possible to perform this operation under anesthesia (during sleep).
For suturing, I use thin self-absorbable threads, which provides excellent cosmetic results and eliminates the need to remove sutures.
After surgery, a circular pressure bandage is usually applied, which protects the wound and reduces the risk of postoperative bleeding.
Wound healing after frenuloplasty takes about 10 days. Dressings are usually performed by the patient independently.
Restrictions after surgery relate only to sexual abstinence during the period of wound healing. There is no need to take sick leave or give up sports.
Rehabilitation after frenulotomy
After frenulotomy, the patient rests for several hours in the ward, then he is sent home. After 2-3 days you can go to work, if it does not involve lifting heavy loads (the seam may come apart).
There is usually some slight swelling or bruising in the first 24 hours, which goes away within a few hours. Within two days, a few drops of blood may come out of the suture. This is fine. They need to be blotted with a sterile napkin and observed over the wound.
Antibacterial therapy is usually not required. The course of antibiotics is replaced by antiseptic ointment "Levomekol". A thin layer of it is applied to the suture area once a day for 5 days. You must appear for a dressing change the next day, and for a final examination after 10 days. The pain goes away completely after 2 weeks. During an erection, slight discomfort may remain for 3-4 weeks.
During the rehabilitation period, the patient should adhere to the following recommendations of the attending physician:
- carry out hygiene measures after each visit to the toilet and use an antiseptic solution prescribed by a doctor for this;
- take a course of antibiotics to prevent the development of purulent infections;
- during rapid healing, do not use fat-based ointments, as they can prolong the rehabilitation period;
- visit a urologist a week after the operation so that he can determine the need to remove the remaining threads, which should be completely resolved by this time.
In addition, during the recovery period you should avoid:
- physical activity and sports;
- visits to baths, saunas, swimming pools;
- taking baths; sexual intercourse and masturbation.
- The latter is necessary in order to eliminate the risk of seams coming apart.
Complications after frenuloplasty
Like any other operation, frenuloplasty can be complicated by wound inflammation, bleeding and the formation of a rough scar.
Infectious and inflammatory complications can develop both as a result of violation of the rules of asepsis during surgery, and due to improper treatment of the wound in the postoperative period and during dressings. Prevention of this type of complications is strict adherence to hygienic requirements during and after surgery.
Bleeding may occur in the first day or two after surgery and is sometimes quite profuse. The cause may be insufficiently reliable suturing of the vessels during surgery or a violation of the blood coagulation system. To prevent bleeding, it is necessary to perform thorough hemostasis with control of all vessels, as well as a mandatory preoperative study of the coagulation system (coagulogram).
The formation of a rough scar after frenuloplasty is an unpleasant problem from both a cosmetic and functional point of view. A rough scar in the frenulum area can be a source of hypersensitivity and premature uncontrolled ejaculation.
The use of modern technologies, such as laser and radiosurgical knife, as well as careful treatment of tissues and the use of modern suture material, allow us to avoid this problem.
From my own experience, I can say that over the past ten years I have not had a single complication after frenuloplasty.
Exercises for correcting the frenulum of the tongue and in the postoperative period
Postoperative frenulum stretching and correction exercises are aimed at developing new muscle movements of the tip of the tongue inside and outside the mouth. Regular practice will increase the range of movement of the tongue.
Articulation exercises by themselves will not improve speech and will not be able to correct the defect, so it is very important to carry them out in conjunction with individual speech therapy sessions.
The most common and universal exercises for stretching and correcting the frenulum of the tongue are given here in the article. Following them, you can study at home with your child on your own:
- Stretch your tongue forward, then stretch the tip up to your nose, then down to your chin. Relax, repeat the exercise several times (at first, up to five repetitions are enough, gradually the number of repetitions must be increased, bringing them to twenty).
- The exercise is performed by analogy with the previous one, moving the tongue left and right. The number of repetitions is also gradually increased to twenty.
- Open your mouth wide. Use the tip of your tongue to touch the upper incisors and try to press on the teeth with all your might, not allowing your mouth to close. During each execution, mentally count to ten. The number of repetitions is the same as the previous ones.
- The exercise is performed in front of a mirror. The mouth is wide open. When performing the exercise, it is important to monitor the movements of the tongue. Pronounce the syllables “dar-dar-dar”, “nar-nar-nar”, “tar-tar-tar”, etc.
- Sticking your tongue forward as much as possible, alternately “lick” your upper and lower lips.
- Closing your mouth, move your tongue from right to left and back, forcefully pressing the inside of your cheeks with the tip of your tongue.
To achieve good results, exercises should be performed daily, in several approaches, for 15-20 minutes . The articulation of specific sounds can be gradually corrected.
Important! You can begin to perform exercises for the frenulum of the tongue only after the wound has completely healed.
Speech therapy classes should include exercises to improve the functioning of the speech apparatus and oral kinesthesia, without which it is difficult to claim significant improvements in the development of a child’s speech. Many young patients, after cutting the frenulum, begin to speak more quietly and more quickly, trying to “drown out” speech problems.
In what cases should you contact a urologist for consultation?
So, in what cases should you contact a urologist for consultation on plastic surgery of the frenulum of the penis?
- with a short frenulum
- with previous tears and microcracks of the frenulum
- when the head of the penis is deviated downwards
- with premature ejaculation
Why is it important not to delay surgery for a short frenulum of the penis?
- A timely operation prevents complications such as rupture or tearing of the frenulum, accompanied by quite severe bleeding
- Frenumplasty relieves pain and discomfort during erection and sexual intercourse
- Eliminating this problem in some cases restores the normal duration of sexual intercourse
You can familiarize yourself with contraindications for frenuloplasty, as well as the list of necessary examinations, on the “Preparation for planned operations” page.
I will be glad to help you solve this delicate problem and offer any of the frenuloplasty options, performed by experts at a competitive price.
Pay attention to the promotion - frenuloplasty as a gift (Learn more...) when denervation of the head is performed in combination with circumcision. An ideal option to actually increase the duration of sexual intercourse!
Author: candidate of medical sciences, doctor of the highest category, Rotov Anton Evgenievich
Possible triggers
Other possible causes of pathology are:
- Chronic inflammatory diseases of the penis
. Balanitis and balanoposthitis, in most cases occurring with the presence of pathogenic microflora, lead to structural tissue changes in the area of the head of the penis. - Chronic injuries to the foreskin
. Even microdamages to the delicate skin of the penis without proper and timely response can lead to improper tissue fusion. Such injuries occur when playing certain sports or wearing too tight underwear and clothes. - Diabetes mellitus in the stage of decompensation
. In this case, tissue changes are caused by a characteristic sign of the disease - a disruption of the regeneration process, as a result of which cicatricial deformities begin to appear in the tissues of the frenulum.
Most often, the pathology is diagnosed when a man begins to have an active sexual life. That's when the real problems begin. Especially if the disease is not detected and treated in time.
Questions about the article
Peter 20 years old
July 28, 2022 at 00:00
Doctor, hello. We performed a frenuloplasty operation, the operation was bloodless, the doctor did not use a scalpel. On the third day, sex occurred at night. In the morning I noticed very small specks of dried blood on the wound. Please tell me, is this dangerous? Could it be fraught with the formation of a rough scar or any other complications?
drrotov
July 29, 2022 at 15:30
No, I don't think it's dangerous. This area is healing well.
Ivan 21 years old
April 15, 2022 at 00:00
Hello. I had a quadruple operation at once: straightening the inverter (there was a downward tilt), lengthening the frenulum, complete circumcision and ligamentotomy.
drrotov
April 16, 2022 at 12:00
Great! You forgot to ask a question...
