Attachment of the foreskin
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The attachment of the foreskin to the penis may occur in three different ways that tend to be confusing. They are fusion, adhesion, and the frenulum.
Fusion
Baby boys are born with the inner surface of their foreskin fused with the underlying glans penis by a synechia named the balano-preputial lamina,[1] which is a thin sheet of connective tissue. The balano-preputial lamina seals the preputial sac and prevents infection.[2] It spontaneously breaks down over a widely-variable span of years (from about 6 to 17) and releases the foreskin from the glans penis. The average of first foreskin retraction in Danish boys was found to be 10.4 years of age. One half were earlier and one half were later. [3]
Fusion of the foreskin in boys is normal, natural, healthy, and does not indicate need for treatment. It is erroneous to mischaracterize fusion as an adhesion.
Adhesion
An adhesion of the foreskin to the glans penis is abnormal and pathological. They frequently occur as a complication of circumcision of the newborn.
To effect a circumcision of a newborn boy, the natural fusion described above must first be destroyed, which is done by the passage of a blunt probe between the infant foreskin and the glans penis which leaves both surface in a raw state. The foreskin is then excised, leaving the residual shaft skin in a raw condition. Sutures are not used in circumcision of infants so the raw cut end of the shaft skin is free to fall where it may. In some cases it falls on the raw glans penis and the two heal together, thus forming an adhesion. Adhesions take many forms. One common form is the skin bridge.
References
- ↑
Deibart GA. The separation of the prepuce in the human penis. Anat Rec. 1933; 57: 387-99. DOI. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ↑ Fleiss P, Hodges F, Van Howe RS. Immunological functions of the human prepuce. Sex Trans Infect. October 1998; 74(5): 364-67. PMID. PMC. DOI. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ↑ Thorvaldsen MA, Meyhoff H. Patologisk eller fysiologisk fimose? [Pathological or physiological phimosis?] (Danish). Ugeskr Læger. 2005; 167(17): 1858-1862. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
