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Tomaz Stupnik, MD; Simona Steblaj, MD; Mihael Sok, PhD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009;135(8):821-823.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

INTRODUCTION

Percutaneous tracheostomy is a frequently conducted procedure in critically ill patients. We report a case of a major tracheal tear (roughly four-fifths of the circumference) complicated by bilateral tension pneumothorax, a very rare but potentially life-threatening complication after percutaneous tracheostomy.

The most severely ill patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) often require a tracheostomy. The standard surgical tracheostomy technique was described in 1909 by Jackson.^1-2 In 1957, Shelden et al³ first described the percutaneous tracheostomy. In 1985, Ciaglia et al⁴ reported a method based on needle–guide wire airway access followed by serial dilatations with sequentially larger dilators (Ciaglia blue rhino). Griggs et al⁵ described the guide wire dilating forceps technique in 1990. In 2001, a PercuTwist percutaneous tracheostomy set was introduced by Rüsch, Kernen, Germany.⁶

Different percutaneous techniques are associated with different rates of minor and major complications. Post–percutaneous . . . [Full Text of this Article]

REPORT OF A CASE

COMMENT

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Author Affiliations: Departments of Thoracic Surgery (Drs Stupnik and Sok) and Neurology, Intensive Care Unit (Dr Steblaj), Univerzitetni Klinicni Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

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