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Circumcision and the Penile Frenulum

by Tally on May 27, 2010 Bookmark and Share

Corona and frenulum of intact penis (uncircumcised)Many men, when they start restoring their foreskin, have questions about the frenulum. To answer questions about the frenulum, we must first consider what the frenulum does and how it works.
(click the pics to embiggen - NSFW)

Frenulum with foreskin retracted showing frenular delta connection between ventral glans and the foreskin. Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frein_du_pr%C3%A9puce.jpgThe frenulum is a body part that connects the glans penis to the ridged band of the foreskin. The frenulum functions as a tether. It is a relatively inelastic section of tissue extending from the meatus to the ridged band on an intact man. The frenulum is connected to the inner foreskin by a web. The frenulum prevents the intact foreskin from retracting and fully exposing the inner foreskin, like it is on a circumcised man.

To understand how the frenulum works, consider your tongue. The lower portion of your tongue is connected to the floor of your mouth with a frenulum. The bottom medial portion of the tongue is tethered to the floor of the mouth. Without that frenulum, the tongue would be able to move fully back into the throat. With the frenulum tethering the tongue, you cannot swallow your tongue.

The penile frenulum also cooperates with the ridged band (often called the frenar band) and the dartos sheath to automatically extend the foreskin to cover the glans. As a tether, the frenulum has a tendency to pull the foreskin toward the glans. After this motion is started, the ridged band and the contracting dartos sheath finish the job of fully extending the foreskin over the glans.

Another function of the frenulum on your penis is pleasure. The frenulum is highly innervated with Meissner's corpuscles, which are fine-touch nerves. The Sorrells study showed that the frenulum is one of the most sensitive areas on the penis.

With that background, what does it mean for a restored man?

First, no circumcised man has his complete frenulum. Because the ridged band is excised during circumcision, the part of the frenulum that connects to the ridged band is also removed. Depending upon how Dr. Butcher performed the circumcision, anywhere from a little to a lot of the frenulum may have been excised. Because the structure that makes the frenulum work as a tether is partially missing, the tether function cannot be restored. We must rely upon the dartos sheath and foreskin length to cover our glans.

Then there is sensitivity. As for sensitivity, it varies from man to man. Some men report that the frenulum remnant is the most sensitive area on their penis. Others report that the corona is the most sensitive. Regardless, restoring will dekeratinize the inner foreskin and glans after they are covered by the restored foreskin. Dekeratinization will return the penis to its natural and normal sensitivity level.

Every circumcised man has at least part of his frenulum removed. The part that connects to the ridged band is removed with the ridged band. Some doctors, for some warped reason, also scrape or excise the rest of the frenulum, or at least all that is visible. This is what most likely happened if the ventral (bottom) side of your penis is as smooth as the dorsal (top) side. Fortunately, some men report that, as they restore, the tissue where the frenulum should be changes and begins to look like a frenulum remnant.

My frenulum is surrounded by scar tissue. Based on reports from others, I think that when Doctor Butcher circumcised me shortly after birth, he used forceps to separate my foreskin from the glans. Those forceps must have pinched my inner foreskin, damaging the sensitive tissues. Because the foreskin is fused to the glans at birth, the bond between the foreskin and glans must be broken forcibly. If the doctor is not careful, the surface of the glans can be damaged and pitted. In my case, the tissue next to my frenulum shows signs of trauma. Before I began restoring, the area surrounding my frenulum was painful to the touch. I had islands of scar tissue surrounded by reddish/pink tissue, which I now know was the mucosal tissue of my inner foreskin remnant. The islands of hard scar tissue pinched the inner foreskin when the scars moved. Fortunately, restoring my foreskin has loosened up that scar tissue and I only occasionally experience pain when I touch the area near my frenulum.

Does it matter how much frenulum remnant is left? Maybe, but probably not to a great degree. Now that I have enough foreskin for the gliding action, I notice that my penis feels really good. But, I could not tell you exactly what part feels the best. During masturbation and sex the restored foreskin rolls up and over the corona and glans. The rolling motion stimulates the Meisner's corpuscles in the inner foreskin remnant, the frenulum remnant, and the corona. It is a combined stimulation that all happens together like nature intended. And, it feels a million times better than my circumcised penis ever felt.
 

Additional Links:

  • For intact foreskin frenulum pictures, see Celebrating Foreskin - Frenulum posts
  • Frenulum page at Foreskin.org, a collection of close-up photographs of the normal, natural, intact adult male foreskin
     
Tags:
  • Circumcision harm
  • Foreskin restoration
  • Sensitivity
  • Tally's blog

Comments

#1 The scar tissue you speak of

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 11:48am.

The scar tissue you speak of can be broken up by Evening Primrose Oil. It is usually in a capsule, and you just apply the oil (massage it in) to the scar tissue. It helps soften and release it. I tell women who have had episiotomies (another form of genital mutilation, IMO) to use EPO on their scaring... it helps tremendously.

  • reply

#2 Thanks for the tip

Submitted by Tally on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 1:16pm.

I will have to get some Evening Primrose Oil and try it. I will report back.

  • reply

#3 how come my penis head around

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 6:03am.

how come my penis head around the Corona & Glans area got red spot ?

  • reply

#4 Sorry, no idea

Submitted by Tally on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 12:33am.

Without knowing more, I really cannot say. If you recently got red spots on your glans, I suggest that you see a doctor. If you have always had red spots, it may be your natural coloration. Or, if you are circumcised, the red spots may be caused from when your foreskin was separated from your glans. Before I started restoring my foreskin, my dorsal corona was purple most of the time. I never knew why at the time. After I started restoring I realized that the purple area was the only part of my penis that was not keratinized. The purple area was my natural mucosal tissue showing.

You may also wish to go to the Foreskin Restoration / Intactivism Network forum. You can post pictures and maybe someone can better answer your questions.

  • reply

#5 Restoring Frenar band

Submitted by Shamala (not verified) on Sat, 02/12/2011 - 2:12am.

I went through the web site restoring foreskin.org. But I want to know how to restore a circumcised frenulum, frenar band and foreskin. Please please please ..... let me know soonest.

  • reply

#6 Tug to restore your foreskin

Submitted by Tally on Mon, 02/14/2011 - 4:51pm.

You can restore your foreskin by tugging. Check out Beginner's Guide - How To Restore your Foreskin and Foreskin Restoration Methods and Devices.

The frenar, or ridged, band is typically excised completely by circumcision. There is no way to restore the missing structures. Also, at least part of the frenulum was excised by circumcision. Again, there is no way to restore the missing function. Although you can restore full sensitivity of the frenulum by keeping it covered so it dekeratinizes.

  • reply

#7 I am concerned that my

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 5:34pm.

I am concerned that my meatus, urethal opening is gradually getting longer.

The area underneath the opening is a little bit red along towards the frenulum and i think it is splitting along this line.

I have been circumcised since a very young age and the redness has always been there as long as i can remember. I have not thought it a big deal as there is no pain or discomfort but the direction of urine is more spread out recently and i am concerned the opening is splitting.

I don't know if this is something that can happen or what can be done to prevent it getting worse? Just hoping for some advice.

Thanks.

  • reply

#8 I have no idea

Submitted by Tally on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 8:08pm.

I suggest that you visit a urologist. I have not heard of anyone else with a similar problem. Meatal stenosis is a very common side effect of infant circumcision. Meatal stenosis is a narrowing of the opening of the urethra. It may be that you have meatal stenosis and it is resolving itself. A urologist should be able to tell you.

  • reply

#9 Help me please!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 12/07/2011 - 5:20am.

My Frenulum is connected to my pee hole (meatus) and it hurts during intercourse

  • reply

#10 Frenulum breve?

Submitted by Tally on Thu, 12/08/2011 - 6:21pm.

If your frenulum is too short, you may have frenulum breve. A short frenulum can be painful when the foreskin retracts. Does your glans pull down when you try to retract your foreskin? If so, I suggest seeing a urologist.

The typical treatment for frenulum breve is to cut the frenulum so that it does not pull on your glans. This is a tissue and nerve sparing operation. Circumcision is never warranted for frenulum breve.

  • reply

#11 ??0

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 12/27/2011 - 3:43am.

What happens if my frenuLum tearS??

  • reply

#12 Ouch!

Submitted by Tally on Tue, 12/27/2011 - 2:41pm.

If your frenulum tears, the first thing to do is keep it clean and let it heal. Rinse the wound with clean water and avoid playing with it. Then you must ask yourself how you tore your frenulum.

If you are intact and your frenulum is short, you may have frenulum breve. There are simple ways to correct frenulum breve that do not involve circumcision. 

If your frenulum is not too short, did you tear it from having rough sex? The end of the penis is mucous membrane, which is much thinner than the skin on the shaft. An example of rough sex is dry masturbation for a circumcised man. Dry masturbation can unduly stress that thin tissue and cause abrasions or even tears. If rough sex is the cause, you must decide if it is worth it.

If you are restoring your foreskin and your frenulum remnant tore, then you need to change how you are tugging. If you are using a device, you may need a frenulum notch. For example, the DTR and TLC-X pusher plates can be notched to provide clearance for your frenulum remnant. Contact your restoring device vendor for more information.

If you continue to tear your frenulum, I suggest seeing a doctor (probably a urologist would be best).

Hope this helps.

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