Tracheotomy

1 – Vocal folds2 – Thyroid cartilage3 – Cricoid cartilage4 – Tracheal ringsTracheotomy (/ˌtreɪkiˈɒtəmi/, UK also /ˌtræki-/), or tracheostomy, is a surgical procedure which consists of making an incision (cut) on the anterior aspect (front) of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea (windpipe). The resulting stoma (hole) can serve independently as an airway or as a site for a tracheal tube or tracheostomy tube to be inserted; this tube allows a person to breathe without the use of the nose or mouth.“Two small scalpels, one short grooved director, a tenaculum, two aneurysm needles which may be used as retractors, one pair of artery forceps, haemostatic forceps, two pairs of dissecting forceps, a pair of scissors, a sharp-pointed tenotome, a pair of tracheal forceps, a tracheal dilator, tracheotomy tubes, ligatures, sponges, a flexible catheter, and feathers”. Tracheotomy (/ˌtreɪkiˈɒtəmi/, UK also /ˌtræki-/), or tracheostomy, is a surgical procedure which consists of making an incision (cut) on the anterior aspect (front) of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea (windpipe). The resulting stoma (hole) can serve independently as an airway or as a site for a tracheal tube or tracheostomy tube to be inserted; this tube allows a person to breathe without the use of the nose or mouth. The etymology of the word tracheotomy comes from two Greek words: the root tom- (from Greek τομή tomḗ) meaning 'to cut', and the word trachea (from Greek τραχεία tracheía). The word tracheostomy, including the root stom- (from Greek στόμα stóma) meaning 'mouth,' refers to the making of a semi-permanent or permanent opening, and to the opening itself. Some sources offer different definitions of the above terms. Part of the ambiguity is due to the uncertainty of the intended permanence of the stoma (hole) at the time it is created. There are four main reasons why someone would receive a tracheotomy: