Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomies have become one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the ICU, and are believed to offer a variety of advantages over open tracheostomies, including increased convenience. Recent publications have established that the risk of fatal complications related to the procedure is low. However, clinicians must still weigh these risks against ex...

To the Editor: Various complications from percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) have been reported in the literature. Tracheal ring fracture can take place while either using single or sequential dilators during the procedure.1 Fibrinous tracheal pseudomembranes can also appear in previously intubated patient.2 Recently, we encountered a case in which both tracheal ring fracture and pseu...

Dear Editor, We read with interest the recent article of Yavas on the tracheostomy in the intensive care unit.1 The authors treated 205 patients needing tracheostomy, 65.4% with surgical tracheostomy (ST) and 34.6% with percutaneous tracheostomy (PT). The authors, while performing PT, used two procedures: the Ciaglia percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy technique using multiple dilators and t...