ABSTRACT
Tracheostomy is not a new procedure. Egyptian tablets dating back to 3600 BC depicting tracheostomy have been discovered,1 and Asclepiades was recorded as performing a tracheostomy in 100 BC. There are many references of tracheostomy being performed for children with diphtheria in the nineteenth century, and, by 1887, approximately 20,000 tracheostomies had been reported in Western Europe and the United States.2 The indications for tracheostomy expanded in the early 1950s. Tracheostomy was then advocated for patients with poliomyelitis who required longterm ventilation respiratory care.3
