Written by Menswear Style in Health & Fitness on the 20th March 2023

If you have been diagnosed with frenulum breve, a too-tight frenulum, you may be considering going for frenuloplasty surgery. Although surgery can be nerve-wracking, frenuloplasty procedures are very simple and are generally completed within 45 minutes in an outpatient service. Some men may need to stay overnight, but the vast majority will be able to go home the same day. But how long is the recovery period for frenuloplasty surgery?

Frenuloplasty recovery: Surgery day 

Once you come around from the anaesthetic, you may feel a little groggy, especially if you have received a general anaesthetic. If this is the case, someone will need to come and collect you to take you home as you will not be able to drive. You will notice that you will have a few absorbable stitches to hold your frenulum closed in its new position and that the penis has been wrapped loosely in a bandage. This bandage will come off by itself after a few hours and doesn’t need to be reapplied. To prevent your clothes from sticking to the procedure site and stitches, Vaseline will be applied regularly to the tip and along the stitch line. When getting dressed to go home, consider loose, comfortable clothes that avoid putting pressure on or touching your crotch specifically. You are likely to experience some discomfort and should take any pain relief given to you by your urologist to ensure you don’t become too uncomfortable. Over-the-counter pain medications including paracetamol and ibuprofen are fine, just make sure to follow the dosage instructions carefully. Once you are home, prioritise resting and taking it easy to allow your body time to heal.

Frenuloplasty recovery: Week one 

Within the first week, you may continue to feel some discomfort, so ensure you rest and continue to take your pain medication if you feel you need it. This resting period will include taking some time off from work, which can be anything from around 2 days to a full week, depending on how you feel. While you are fine to wash and keep up your personal hygiene, you should try and keep the site dry for at least 48 hours after your surgery to stop possible infection risks. Alongside resting and taking pain relief, you should begin daily gentle retractions of the foreskin to prevent scarring and a shortening of the frenulum. This may feel a little tight but not uncomfortable, so don’t push yourself too far if you are still tender in the early days. Your nurse or urologist will show you how to complete these before you leave the hospital so try to do as they have shown you. You should, of course, expect some swelling and bruising of the penis which can last around 3-4 days. It will pass by itself but if you experience any of the following, you should contact your GP or urologist. 

- A temperature 

- Increased redness 

- Throbbing at the procedure site 

- Difficulty passing urine 

- If your discharge has an odour 

Frenuloplasty recovery: Week two onwards 

By this point in your recovery, you should feel much more like yourself and will be able to resume most of your normal day-to-day activities. Your absorbable stitches should disappear by themselves within two to three weeks and don’t require any special attention unless you find they are continuing to stick to your clothes. If this is the case, keep applying Vaseline liberally and frequently- there are no concerns with overusing Vaseline so go nuts if you need to. You should be healing nicely by this point- medical professionals expect that healing should be completed in around 10 days but this can differ person-by-person. Although you might be feeling considerably better, you should continue to avoid contact sports, masturbating, and sexual intercourse for a minimum of 4-6 weeks because the wound can be reopened accidentally. Your urologist will let you know when you can enjoy physical contact once again.

Find frenuloplasty providers near you

With a relatively short and simple recovery, frenuloplasty need not be intimidating. While you will be uncomfortable for a short while, the benefits to you are numerous, allowing you to live without pain and enjoy sexual activity, without needing a full circumcision. Find experienced, specialist uro/andrologists to complete your frenuloplasty right here in the UK today and see how good life can be once again.

Surgery day, Providers near you, Week One, and Week Two are all covered in this blog post on Frenuloplasty Recovery.