Thanks to a combination of an ageing population, the after-effects of the COVID pandemic, and ongoing industrial action, the NHS is experiencing rapidly increasing delays.
While you might expect these delays to occur in elective surgeries only, this is sadly not the case.
Many men experience pain and distress from a frenulum breve, or a too-tight frenulum and require frenuloplasty to increase the length of the skin.
But how could these increasing wait times impact on men waiting for frenuloplasty on the NHS?
Who might need a frenuloplasty?
Frenuloplasty is the removal or alteration of the frenulum, a small fold of tissue on the underside of the penis.
As such, men seek frenuloplasty when the frenulum is very short and becomes too tight. This can cause a variety of symptoms. The most common of which include:
- Pain when trying to retract the foreskin over the head of the penis
- Difficulty in cleaning the head of the penis
- Hygiene issues because of the inability to clean the penis
- Painful or impossible sexual intercourse
- Bending of the penis
- Bleeding
In the most severe of cases, a too-tight frenulum can result in a difficult combination of psychological trauma and physical problems. As a result of this, some men find themselves unable to enjoy sexual intimacy which affects self-confidence and self-esteem.
When is a frenuloplasty performed?
Many men who need frenuloplasty are generally diagnosed when there is significant discomfort and pain during sexual intercourse.
As a relatively simple procedure, frenuloplasty can be completed under a local anaesthetic on an outpatient or day-case basis and should be quick and easy to treat on the NHS.
Unfortunately, however, this tends to not be the case for many men living with the reality of an over-tight frenulum.
Are waiting times increasing for men needing frenuloplasty on the NHS?
In the delay between diagnosis and treatment, men often find that their confidence and self-esteem drop as the pain and discomfort increase.
This is worsened of course by the rapidly increasing NHS waiting time for simple procedures such as frenuloplasty.
Normally completed within 45 minutes on an outpatient basis, most men are ready to go home within a few hours and heal within 10-14 days.
Despite this, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the NHS Performance Analysis Team have released data which demonstrates that despite efforts to improve, NHS waiting times for non-urgent referrals have increased shockingly.
“The number of RTT* patients waiting to start treatment at the end of December 2022 was 7.2 million patients.
Of those, 406,035 patients were waiting more than 52 weeks, 54,882 patients were waiting more than 78 weeks, and 1,234 patients were waiting more than 104 weeks.”
*RTT- route to referral. Quote from the NHS Statistical Press Notice from the NHS Performance Analysis Team.
This means that men desperate for treatment to feel like themselves again and enjoy all aspects of their lives have no choice but to look to private treatment options for procedures, such as frenuloplasty.
Where the NHS has failed them, private healthcare has stepped into the breach – ridding them of potentially crippling pain, anxiety, and sexual dysfunction in a matter of weeks.
Private treatment rapidly reduces waiting times for men needing testicular replacement.
Choosing private treatment then is the ideal solution for men struggling to wait for frenuloplasty treatment under the NHS.
Finance options
Contrary to popular belief, many patients are now choosing private providers for treatment because they can see that it is much more affordable than they may have assumed and includes a range of finance options to help make repayments.
Investment in private healthcare and cosmetic procedures is increasingly common among the public, as they now see it as an investment in themselves. As such, they are even more likely to invest in what they deem to be the best.
With a range of private financing options available, patients can take advantage of pay-monthly options with low-interest rates from 3% APR and spread the cost of their testicle replacement over 5 years.
Experienced, flexible practitioners
Not only can waiting times be vastly decreased from years to just a few months, but the quality of treatment can also vastly be improved if patients opt for private healthcare.
Moorgate Andrology’s clinics specialise in all things men’s health. As a result, our experienced uro/ andrologists are unlikely to come across anything they haven’t seen before and have access to the latest techniques and equipment, allowing them to treat complex andrology problems with the most effective methods.
Similarly, we have increased flexibility regarding the time and day of consultations and procedures, with availability in the daytime, evenings, and some weekends to help minimise your downtime. This is unheard of within the NHS and allows for patients working full-time to see us when it suits them, essential for anyone from business owners to busy parents alike, shift workers to nine-to-fivers.
Contact Moorgate Andrology today for help with testicle replacement
As experts in specialist andrological procedures, Moorgate Andrology has been chosen for over 35 to provide the best quality of care for men across the UK- without the anxiety-inducing, year-long waiting times.
Shrinking the potential waiting time for frenuloplasty surgery to a matter of months, rather than years.
So, if you are currently on an NHS waiting list for treatment, why not come to see us today for a free Urologist Consultation? Simply find your nearest location and reach out to us today. For more information or to ask any remaining questions about frenuloplasty with Moorgate Andrology, you can email or call us anytime for confidential, medical advice.
