Type of Surgery
Information

Last updated: 11/24/2009
Emergency tracheotomies are performed as needed in any person requiring one.
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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.)
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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.
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The decision to undergo ear tube surgery should be discussed carefully with the doctor, ... A variety of factors go into this decision. If you think putting tubes in the child's ears is going to improve developmental outcome at age 3, the answer is: no, it won't.
-Jack Paradise
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