Foreskin Restoration - Nonsurgical Techniques

Nonsurgical Techniques

Nonsurgical foreskin restoration, accomplished through tissue expansion, is the more commonly used method of foreskin restoration. Both the skin of the penile shaft and the mucosal inner lining of the foreskin, if any remains after circumcision, may be expanded.

The skin is pulled forward over the glans, and tension is applied manually, by using weights or elastic straps. In the second two cases a device must be attached to the skin; surgical tape is often used. An example of a device using elastic straps is the T-Tape method, which was developed in the 1990s with the idea of enabling restoration to take place more rapidly. Many specialized foreskin restoration devices (like Dual Tension Restorer shown in the picture) that grip the skin with or without tape are also commercially available. Tension from these devices may be applied by weights or elastic straps, by pushing the skin forward on the penis, or by a combination of these methods.

The amount of tension produced by any method must be adjusted to avoid causing injury, pain or discomfort, and provides a limit on the rate at which new skin can be grown. There is a risk of damaging tissues from the use of excessive tension or applying tension for too long. Websites about foreskin restoration vary in their recommendations, from suggesting a regimen of moderate amounts of tension applied for several hours a day, to recommending periods of higher tension applied for only a few minutes per day, as with manual techniques.

Tissue stretching has long been known to stimulate mitosis, and research shows that regenerated human tissues have the attributes of the original tissue. Unlike conventional skin expansion techniques, however, the process of nonsurgical foreskin restoration may take several years to complete. The time required depends on the amount of skin available to expand, the amount of skin desired in the end, and the regimen of stretching methods used. Patience and dedication are needed; support groups exist to help with these (see External links section). The act of stretching the skin is often described informally as "tugging" in these groups, especially those on the internet.