Tracheostomy in Adults.

■ ■ Your healthcare provider may recommend a tracheostomy when you cannot breathe on your own. This can happen in conditions like severe pneumonia, a massive heart attack, or stroke. In such cases, you may need help from a breathing machine for more than a couple of weeks. At first, the breathing machine delivers air to the lungs through a temporary tube that goes into the windpipe through your mouth [endotracheal (ET) tube] (See ATS Patient Education Series on Mechanical Ventilation). However, if it is expected that you will need long-term help from a breathing machine, your healthcare provide may recommend switching the tube in the mouth to a tracheostomy tube.