ABSTRACT
Patients with acute severe respiratory disease or who are being weaned from invasive ventilation may benefit from formation of a temporary tracheostomy to reduce deadspace. In practice, most ward patients with temporary tracheostomies are transferred from intensive care units (ICUs), where the stomas were created. Permanent tracheostomies are usually formed when part of the airway has been removed due to cancer. Minitracheostomies are currently rarely used. This chapter, therefore, discusses only temporary tracheostomies. Tracheostomies may be surgical or percutaneous. Most are percutaneous, being safer and easier to perform, so exposing patients to fewer risks. However, percutaneous stomas may not ‘mature’ for 7-10 days (Broomhead, 2002), so emergency reintubation may create a false and fatal passage.
