Frenulum breve

Frenulum breve or a short frenulum, is a condition in which the frenulum, which is an elastic band of tissue under the glans penis that connects to the prepuce (foreskin) and helps contract the prepuce over the glans, is short and restricts the movement of the prepuce. The frenulum should normally be sufficiently long and supple to allow for the full retraction of the prepuce so that retracts behind the glans penis of the erect penis.

If frenulum breve prevents retraction of the prepuce, then it may be mistaken for phimosis.

Contents

Symptoms and diagnosis

Frenulum breve cannot be diagnosed until the foreskin becomes retractable.

Frenulum breve either will prohibit complete retraction of the foreskin behind the glans penis or it will cause the foreskin to bunch up directly behind the corona.

Typically, the head of the penis will dip toward the floor when a foreskin with frenulum breve is retracted or the foreskin may "bunch up" behind the head.

Frenulum breve may be complicated by tearing of the frenulum during sexual or other activity and is a cause of dyspareunia. It may lead to erroneous labeling of the sufferer as having psychosexual problems. The torn frenulum may result in healing with scar tissue that is less flexible after the incident causing further difficulties. However, this tearing can also solve the problem, healing such that the frenulum is longer and therefore no longer problematic. The diagnosis of frenulum breve is almost always confused with that of phimosis and a generally tight foreskin, since the symptom is difficulty retracting the foreskin. Most men with phimosis may also have frenulum breve to a certain extent.

Non-surgical conservative treatment

Stretching exercises and steroid creams may also be helpful. The frenulum, like other tissues, can be enlarged through tissue expansion. These pages list a manual exercise to stretch the frenulum.

Surgical treatment

The condition may be treated with surgery. There are several different techniques to treat this condition. Threading a suture through the lower membrane, and then tying a tight knot around the frenulum itself is a procedure that minimizes invasive action. After a few days the frenulum will weaken and eventually break apart to allow the prepuce to fully retract. Other procedures involve the cutting of the skin and require the use of sutures to help in the healing process.

Alternatively, it may be treated by a reparative plastic surgery operation called a frenuloplasty., or resection of the frenulum (frenectomy).

The negative aspect of surgical treatment is possible damage or loss of the frenulum, which some men consider a highly erogenous area of their genitals.

Circumcision of adolescent and adult males provides a substantial fee for surgery to the surgeon. Circumcision is not necessary to treat simple frenulum breve, however some rapacious doctors will be quick to recommend circumcision. Let the patient beware of such practices and protect his multi-functional, protective, erogenous foreskin. Circumcision should be the last option — to be used only after all conservative treatments fail.

See also

• Phimosis
• Stretching
• Tissue expansion

External links

• (2014). Frenulum praeputii assessment query, Male Initiation. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
• Phimosis, Frenulum breve, Circumcision, Foreskin retraction. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
• Frenulum Breve - no reason for circumcision. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
• How to Do Phimosis Stretching. Retrieved 26 January 2021.