Knowra Tracheostomy Tracheostomy A tracheostomy is a surgically created opening through the neck into the trachea. It provides an airway that can bypass the nose, mouth, and upper airway.
Trachea : The trachea is the airway connecting the larynx to the bronchi. The tracheostomy opening enters this airway below the larynx.
Mechanical ventilation : Mechanical ventilation uses a machine to move air into and out of the lungs. A tracheostomy can provide a route for prolonged ventilation without an endotracheal tube in the mouth.
Endotracheal intubation : Endotracheal intubation places a tube through the mouth or nose and larynx into the trachea. It secures the airway without creating a surgical opening in the neck.
Tracheostomy care : Tracheostomy care includes maintaining tube patency, cleaning the stoma, and managing secretions. Routine care helps prevent blockage, infection, and skin problems around the opening.
Chevalier Jackson : Chevalier Jackson was an American laryngologist who advanced endoscopy and airway surgery in the early twentieth century. His work helped establish safer techniques and standards for tracheostomy and airway procedures.
Tracheostomy tube : A tube placed through a tracheostomy opening to maintain an airway or support ventilation. Its design and placement shape airflow through the surgically created opening.
Upper airway obstruction : Upper airway obstruction is partial or complete blockage of airflow through the nose, mouth, pharynx, or larynx. A tracheostomy can bypass an obstruction above the opening.
Cricothyrotomy : Cricothyrotomy creates an emergency airway through the cricothyroid membrane between the thyroid and cricoid cartilages. It is typically a faster emergency procedure at a different neck location.
Aspiration : Aspiration is the entry of material such as food, liquid, or saliva into the airway. A tracheostomy does not eliminate aspiration risk, and swallowing function may need assessment.
Armand Trousseau : Armand Trousseau was a nineteenth-century French physician associated with clinical descriptions of tracheotomy for airway obstruction. His advocacy helped bring the operation into wider medical use.
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