ABSTRACT
A tracheotomy is the creation of an opening into the trachea. A tracheostomy implies that this opening has a connection to an opening in the skin, i.e. the formation of a stoma. Historically, the procedure appears to have been depicted on Egyptian tablets in approximately 3600 BC. The early operations were associated with a very high mortality and became an established technique only in the nineteenth century when a large number were performed on patients suffering from diphtheria.
