Tracheostomy

What is a tracheostomy?

A tracheostomy is a medical procedure - either temporary or permanent - that involves creating a hole in the neck to insert a tube into a person's throat.

The tube is inserted by cutting the neck below the vocal cords. This allows air to enter the lungs. Breathing is then done through a tube, through the mouth, nose, and throat.

A tracheostomy is usually called a stoma. This is the name of the neck hole through which the tube passes.

Why a tracheostomy is performed

A tracheostomy is performed for a number of reasons, all of which involve limited airways. It can be done during an emergency when your respiratory system is blocked. Or it can be used when an illness or other problem makes normal breathing difficult.

Conditions that may require tracheostomy include:

• anaphylaxis
• congenital respiratory paralysis
• air conditioning burns due to inhalation of decaying material
• neck cancer
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• comma
• diaphragm dysfunction
• burns or facial surgery
• infection
• injury to the larynx or laryngectomy
• injury to the chest wall
• the need for long-term support for a respirator or respirator
• obstruction of the respiratory tract by the external body
• obstructive sleep apnea
• paralysis of the muscles used in swallowing
• severe injury to the neck or mouth
• plants
• voice impairment

How to prepare for a tracheostomy

Once your tracheostomy is scheduled, your doctor will tell you how to prepare for the procedure. This may include fasting for up to 12 hours before the procedure.

If your tracheostomy is done in an emergency, there will be no time to prepare.

How tracheostomy is performed

For most scheduled tracheostomy, you will be given general anesthesia. This means you will sleep and you will not feel any pain. In an emergency, you will be injected with local anesthesia.

This silences the area of ​​your neck where the hole was made. The procedure will only start after the anesthesia has started.

Your surgeon will cut your neck under Adam's apple. The cut will pass through the cartilaginous rings on the outer wall of your trachea, also known as your windpipe. The hole is then opened wide enough to fit the tracheostomy tube inside.

Your doctor may connect a tube to a ventilator, in case you need a ventilator. The tube will be protected in place by a band around your neck.

This helps to keep the tube in place while the skin around it cools. Your surgeon team will tell you how to care for the wound and your tracheostomy tube.

Getting used to the tracheostomy tube

It usually takes one to three days to adjust to breathing through the tracheostomy tube. Speaking and making sounds also take practice. This is because the air you breathe does not pass through your voice box. For some people, closing the tube helps them speak.

Alternatively, special valves can be connected to the tracheostomy tube. Although still breathing through a tube, these valves allow air to escape from the mouth and nose, allowing for speech.