Tracheotomy is a surgical procedure which, in conditions of acute respiratory emergency, guarantees an adequate airway through the trachea whereas, in cases of chronic respiratory failure, it is used to improve ventilation through the reduction of the dead respiratory space. Over the last few years, surgical techniques used in tracheotomy have been considerably modified, not only to respond to ...

A 66-YR-OLD male patient developed expiratory stridor shortly after decannulation. Bronchoscopy showed, at the stoma site, a large flap (fig. A and B, arrows) that moved synchronously with the respiratory cycle and obstructed more than 80% of the lumen during expiration (fig. B). The reinsertion of the tracheotomy tube trapped the flap between the tube itself and the anterior tracheal wall, and...

Objective: Decannulation of patients with tracheotomy usually requires decrease in tracheostomy tube size, capping for 24-48 hours and observation after tube removal. Delay in decannulation may increase cardiopulmonary load, prolong hospitalization and cause patient distress. We propose a one-stage procedure in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting for patients undergoing head and neck surgeries...

During a tracheotomy, the surgeon makes an incision through the front of the patient’s neck (the incision is known as a tracheostomy) to access the trachea and inserts a tracheostomy tube (see Fig. 1), which serves as an alternative airway to the mouth or nose. After insertion, a balloon is inflated to the diameter of the trachea, which fixes the tracheotomy tube in place, allows for positive p...

OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence and to describe wound complications and associated risk factors of pediatric tracheotomy. DESIGN Retrospective case series. SETTING Freestanding tertiary care academic pediatric hospital. PATIENTS Sixty-five consecutive children undergoing tracheotomy over 15 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Postoperative wound complications objectively and independent...

Given the remarkable advances that have occurred in clinical airway management in recent years it is only natural for clinicians to wonder how airway management was carried out in distant times. It turns out that the art of clinical airway management is as old as medicine itself. For instance, there is evidence that the tracheotomy operation was portrayed on Egyptian tablets dating back to 3,60...

OBJECTIVE Most foreign bodies in the airway are removed by respiratory endoscopy. Rarely, the removal of the foreign body has to be performed through endoscopic control by tracheotomy or tracheostomy. This article reports three cases of foreign body removal in children performed by tracheal opening. DESCRIPTION Retrospective review of records with report of three cases of children who aspirat...