Abstract
July 2006
Section 2 Head and Neck
8 TracheostomyInitially, tracheostomy was performed primarily as a life-saving intervention to secure and establish an airway in patients with life-threatening airway obstruction as a consequence of infection or neoplastic disease. Currently, it is most commonly done to facilitate prolonged ventilator-based respiration in patients with respiratory failure. Tracheostomy has become an integral part of complex head and neck tumor resections for cancer involving the larynx, the base of the tongue, the pharynx, and, in some cases, the base of the skull. In addition, it is performed to provide airway diversion in patients with laryngeal stenosis or bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Preoperative evaluation, operative technique, and management of early and late complications are discussed with respect to surgical tracheostomy, as well as awake and percutaneous tracheostomy. This chapter contains 5 recommended readings.
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