Type of Surgery
Information

Last updated: 11/24/2009
A tracheotomy is a surgical procedure that opens up the windpipe (trachea). It is performed in emergency situations, in the operating room, or at bedside of critically ill patients. The term tracheostomy is sometimes used interchangeably with tracheotomy. Strictly speaking, however, tracheostomy usually refers to the opening itself while a tracheotomy is the actual operation.
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Even though we are constantly breathing, we do not often think about what is happening when we do so. This narrated animation describes respiration of the lungs and oxygenation of the blood.
For a tracheotomy, an incision is made in the skin just above the sternal notch (A). Just below the thyroid, the membrane covering the trachea is divided (B), and the trachea itself is cut (C). A cross incision is made to enlarge the opening (D), and a tracheostomy tube may be put in place (E). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
Other Information
Tracheotomy and tracheostomy are surgical procedures on the neck to open a direct airway through an incision in the trachea (the windpipe). They are performed by paramedics, veterinarians, emergency physicians and surgeons. Both surgical and percutaneous techniques are now widely used.
While tracheostomy may have possibly been portrayed on ancient Egyptian tablets, the first correct description of the tracheotomy operation for suffocating patients was described by Ibn Zuhr in the 12th century, and the currently used surgical tracheostomy technique was described in 1909 by Dr. Chevalier Jackson from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Other Information
Adenoid surgery is very safe, but every operation and anaesthetic has a small risk. This is much the same as the risks of everyday life. For example, crossing the road, driving a car, flying in a plane.
-P H Jones
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