Frenuloplasty in Taichung: short or torn frenulum, recovery and risks
Is the head of the penis (the glans) pulled down during erection, or does the band under it tear and bleed in the same spot? This is often a short frenulum. The treatment is frenuloplasty, a small operation that lengthens it.
You do not always need a circumcision. The doctor uses a numbing cream, not an injection, and if you are suitable it can be done on the day of your first assessment.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Chao-An Chen, urologist, at 昭安泌尿科診所 (Morning Urology Clinic), West District, Taichung.
In short
- Signs: the foreskin pulls back, but during erection the glans is pulled down, the band is tight or painful, or the same spot keeps tearing.
- Bleeding now: press with clean gauze for 20 minutes.
- Circumcision? Not always. If the foreskin pulls back normally, frenuloplasty alone is sometimes enough. Both can be done at the same visit if needed.
- Recovery (frenulum only): work the same day; shower on day 7 (next day if tissue glue was used); remaining stitches out on day 14; sex and masturbation after about 4 weeks.
- Doctor and cost: Dr. Chao-An Chen or Dr. Kai-Wu Yang; you can choose. Costs are explained at the consultation. You can also ask about costs on LINE before you come.
The frenulum has torn and is bleeding
1. Wrap the wound in clean gauze. Hold it firmly and press for 20 minutes. Do not lift it to look.
2. If it will not stop: during consulting hours, tell us on LINE first and the clinic will treat it. Outside consulting hours, go straight to an emergency department.
3. Consulting hours: Monday to Friday 09:00–12:00, 14:30–17:30, 19:00–21:00; Saturday 09:00–12:00; closed Sunday.
4. Once it stops: repeated tears in one spot may mean a short frenulum. On LINE, send your name, mobile number, the date of the tear and how many times that spot has torn. A new tear is treated first; surgery is planned after it heals.
This box is for people who have not had surgery here. After surgery at this clinic (including circumcision), see “After surgery at this clinic” below.
Is it a short frenulum?
The frenulum is the band of tissue under the glans, running from below the urinary opening to the inner foreskin. A short one is called frenulum breve. The British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) says a tight frenulum may hurt during erection or sex, and may tear and bleed. It is one of the common causes of painful sex in men.
There is no agreed length. The doctor examines both the soft and the erect state, because pulling during erection cannot be seen when soft. Phimosis is different: the foreskin opening is too narrow to pull back. The two can happen together.
Photos alone are not enough. The erect-state check is only for people aged 18 or over: take a photo of the erect foreskin on your own phone and show it at the visit. Do not send it on LINE; the clinic does not keep it.
| What you notice | What it may be |
|---|---|
| Foreskin will not pull back; the opening is white and hard | Phimosis or lichen sclerosus, treated differently. See circumcision. |
| Pulls back, but the glans is pulled down in erection | Short frenulum: this page. |
| The whole shaft bends, or there is a hard lump | Peyronie’s disease or congenital curvature (usually downward, clearer after puberty). See Peyronie’s disease (Chinese). |
| Circumcised, still tight in erection | Three possible causes; see “Already circumcised” below. |
| White spots or small bumps | Possibly pearly penile papules, or an infection. |
| A wound that will not heal, is red or has pus | A painful wound that looks like a tear can still be syphilis or another STI; redness, a hard lump or pus beside the frenulum may be linked to gonorrhoea. See STI testing. |
Tearing: too rough, or too short?
The frenulum has small blood vessels, so tears often bleed. Most small tears heal with simple care. Larger or repeated tears may need treatment to stop bleeding, stitches or frenuloplasty.
In 32 foreskin injuries (including children) at one Hong Kong hospital, adult injuries from sex often came with phimosis or a short frenulum. But one strong force can also cause a tear, and you cannot tell which by yourself. Repeated tears are worth an assessment.
A healed tear may leave a scar, which stretches less and may tear more easily. Stitches or a cream are decided after the doctor sees the wound.
If you did not use a condom the whole time
Stop the bleeding first. HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) depends mainly on the type of contact, how long ago it was (the sooner the better, in principle within 72 hours) and your partner’s HIV status. If the status is unknown, the doctor also considers the bleeding wound and other infections. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that in anal or vaginal sex, HIV can enter through the urinary opening, the foreskin or a wound on the penis. STI tests are timed from the date of contact, because a test taken too early may fall in the window period. This clinic provides PEP; ask on LINE. See which STI tests, and when.
Circumcision, or the frenulum only?
If the foreskin pulls back normally and only the frenulum is short, frenuloplasty alone is sometimes enough. If the foreskin also has phimosis, repeated inflammation or is too long, it can be treated at the same visit. BAUS notes that a short frenulum can come with foreskin scarring, so some people still need a full circumcision. If the opening is also tight or scarred, the frenulum alone is usually not enough.
BAUS lists three choices: watch and wait if symptoms are mild; frenuloplasty; or circumcision instead, or later, if symptoms do not improve.
In a few people symptoms do not improve and circumcision may be needed later: 1 in 10 to 1 in 50 people, BAUS estimates. In one UK hospital, 9 of 96 people followed for one year (about 8%) later had a circumcision. These are not this clinic’s figures.
Frenuloplasty can be added to circumcision; laser circumcision makes it easier to treat the frenulum precisely at the same time. See circumcision options.
Already circumcised, but it still pulls
This can be assessed. “Too tight” can have three causes:
- Ring scar: the cut heals into a firm ring that feels like a tight band in erection. Scar release and re-stitching can be assessed.
- Short frenulum: it pulls down and hurts, and may tear again and again. Frenuloplasty can be assessed.
- Not enough skin along the whole shaft.
It does not matter where your circumcision was done, and no photos are needed. See still too tight after circumcision. If it was less than six months ago, the doctor checks the scar first, then decides the timing.
Just circumcised and the frenulum is swollen? If done here, see “After surgery at this clinic”. If done elsewhere: swelling is common and usually lasts up to 7–14 days (BAUS). For dressing changes, redness, pus or possible infection, book on LINE without waiting for the scar to mature.
The operation and numbing
The doctor cuts across the tight part and stitches it lengthwise, so the frenulum becomes longer. A few stitches may be needed. It is usually an outpatient procedure. A 2022 review suggests a scalpel rather than electrocautery (a heated electric tool), but notes that electrocautery and laser also seem to give good results. No studies compare the methods and good long-term data are lacking, so the doctor chooses based on your frenulum.
Numbing cream, no injection. For the frenulum alone, the doctor applies a lidocaine and prilocaine cream and waits for it to work. You may still feel pulling, tightness or slight stinging, and you can ask to stop at any time. With circumcision at the same visit, the circumcision anaesthesia covers it.
Do not use this cream yourself. On broken or inflamed skin, or over a larger area or time, more is absorbed. Very rarely this causes methaemoglobinaemia (less oxygen in the blood): blue lips or nails, dizziness, fast breathing, sometimes hours later. If this happens, go straight to an emergency department. Do not wait for a LINE reply.
Before you come. If you take anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines, check with the prescribing doctor first; with a heart stent, never stop them yourself. Bring a list of your regular medicines.
Who operates. Dr. Chao-An Chen or Dr. Kai-Wu Yang, both board-certified urologists (Dr. Chen is also board-certified in surgery). You can choose. The wound is closed with dissolving stitches. For the frenulum alone, the doctor decides during surgery whether to add tissue glue.
Recovery
| Same day | You can work. When the numbing wears off, the wound may ache or feel swollen. |
| Day 7 | Shower. With tissue glue, from the next day. |
| Day 14 | Return visit; stitches that have not fallen out are removed. |
| About 4 weeks | Sex and masturbation. BAUS also advises a pause of up to about 4 weeks, or until fully healed. |
This is for the frenulum alone. With circumcision, follow the circumcision timeline (with the disposable circumcision stapler, there is no separate visit for frenulum stitches). See circumcision recovery. Erections at night are normal.
After surgery at this clinic: bleeding, swelling, pain or an open wound
- At any hour, tell us on LINE first. The doctor replies and arranges care.
- For bleeding, press with clean gauze for 20 minutes without lifting it.
- Go to the nearest emergency department only if LINE does not reply and the bleeding will not stop.
Costs and combining treatments
The cost depends on whether it is the frenulum only or with circumcision; if combined, each is charged separately. Costs are explained at the consultation. You can also ask about costs on LINE before you come. A medical certificate can be issued according to the regulations.
The doctor can also assess combining frenuloplasty with pearly penile papules, Fordyce spots, vasectomy (if family planning is complete) or intimate hair removal. This depends on your health, the anaesthesia and the wound risk. With papules or hair removal, more numbing cream is needed; the doctor calculates it in advance. Each item is charged and its risks explained separately. Worried about skin colour difference? See circumcision and skin colour (surgery on another day).
How it is arranged at this clinic
- Book on LINE: name, mobile number, frenulum only or with circumcision, preferred date and time, and doctor. For same-day surgery, write “I hope to have surgery at the same visit if suitable”. Surgery on this page is for people aged 18 or over; for children, parents can read phimosis in children (Chinese).
- Assessment: frenulum length, past tears, and the foreskin. Tell the doctor all your medicines (especially blood thinners) and long-term conditions.
- Surgery: the same day if suitable. A new tear that has not healed is treated first.
- Return visit: day 14.
- Check-in: for a normal visit, at least 10 minutes before the session ends. For same-day surgery on the frenulum alone, at least 1 hour before: by 11:00, 16:30 or 20:00 on weekdays, or 11:00 on Saturday. From another city? See visiting from other cities (Chinese).
Risks, side effects and who should wait
- For: a short frenulum that is held tight and painful during erection or sex, or tears in the same spot again and again, whether or not you are circumcised.
- Not now: severe acute inflammation or pus in the area (control the infection first), or a severe bleeding disorder. The cream must not be used if you are allergic to amide-type local anaesthetics.
- Like any operation: bleeding, infection, poor healing and scarring.
- BAUS estimates (not this clinic’s figures): swelling of the penis, possibly lasting 7–14 days, in 1 in 2 to 1 in 10. Reduced feeling in the glans, and wound bleeding (may need a return visit), each 1 in 10 to 1 in 50. Wound infection needing antibiotics or other treatment, a tender frenulum scar, and being unhappy with the appearance, each 1 in 50 to 1 in 250. Rare events below 1 in 250 are not listed one by one.
- Feeling: the area has many nerve endings. No studies measure whether feeling changes after frenulum surgery.
- Numbing cream: very rarely methaemoglobinaemia, possibly hours later (see above). Tell the doctor first if you have had a local anaesthetic allergy, or have G6PD deficiency, congenital or unexplained methaemoglobinaemia, significant heart or lung disease, or take medicines that can cause methaemoglobinaemia.
- Tissue glue: a few people are allergic, with redness, itching or blisters, usually about 10 days after.
Frequently asked questions
Is it related to premature ejaculation?
Frenuloplasty treats pulling, pain and tearing. It is not a treatment for premature ejaculation. No randomised trials have tested it for this. A 2024 review of the European, American and international sexual medicine guidelines found that none lists frenulum surgery as a treatment, and French recommendations advise against routine circumcision or frenulum surgery for it. See premature ejaculation clinic.
Will it affect my erections?
No studies have looked at this. The BAUS list of effects does not include it, but that list does not show rare events below 1 in 250. If your erections are already unsteady, the doctor assesses that separately.
Can I stretch it, or use a cream, to make it longer?
No studies have tested this. Pulling hard may cause a tear.
Is “frenectomy” the same thing?
Names such as frenectomy, frenulum release and frenulum repair usually mean surgery for a tight frenulum, but they are not used consistently. This page calls it frenuloplasty.
Do I need to stay in hospital?
It is usually an outpatient procedure, and for the frenulum alone you can work the same day.
A tear left a small dip or bump. Should it be treated?
It depends on its place and size. Mention it when you book, and the doctor checks it too.
Appointments and access
Consultations are conducted in Mandarin, and can also be conducted in English.
On LINE, write “frenulum only” or “with circumcision”. You do not need to explain why you are here in the waiting area; the clinic has private consulting rooms.
昭安泌尿科診所 (Morning Urology Clinic)
No. 98, Boguan 2nd St., West District, Taichung City 403, Taiwan（403 臺中市西區博館二街98號）
Consulting hours: Monday to Saturday (closed Sunday). Online booking is open 24 hours.
This page was produced by 昭安泌尿科診所 (Morning Urology Clinic). Medical content last updated: October 2026 (same as the Traditional Chinese version). English version published: 5 November 2026. Medically reviewed by Dr. Chao-An Chen, urologist. Numbing and recovery timelines follow this clinic’s practice.
Sources: BAUS, Penile frenulum (2024) / BAUS, Complete removal of the foreskin (2024) / Yip A, et al. Br J Urol. 1989 / Dockray J, et al. BJU Int. 2012 / Pyrgidis N, et al. Int J Impot Res. 2022 / Romano L, et al. Diagnostics. 2024 / Huyghe E, et al. Prog Urol. 2023 / CDC, How HIV Spreads / Lidocaine and prilocaine cream, US label.
This page provides general medical information and does not replace an individual diagnosis or treatment plan.