The tracheotomy
A tracheotomy is an artificial opening of the windpipe. A kind of tube/cannula is then inserted into this opening, which connects the trachea with the outside world and keeps the incision open. This tube, which directs the air through the incision in the trachea into the lungs, is called a “tracheostoma” in medical terminology.
Stoma is the encroachment for an artificially created body orifice. A tracheotomy is the term used to describe an incision in the windpipe. Tracheotomy becomes necessary when a person is no longer able to breathe independently and is dependent on external ventilation, for example by a machine, for a long period of time.
This is particularly the case with patients in a coma. Patients with laryngeal cancer, which obstructs the airflow in the trachea and lungs or has made it necessary to remove the larynx, are also often dependent on a tracheostoma. The term tracheostomy is often misused in general language.
Many people imagine the incision made in the throat in acute, life-threatening respiratory distress. This “emergency tracheotomy” is correctly referred to as a criotomy, where the larynx is cut, not the trachea. While the criotomy thus represents an emergency medical intervention in the event of suffocation, the tracheotomy is planned to be performed when the patient’s respiratory situation is expected to last for the foreseeable long term.
Complications of a tracheotomy are injuries of the larynx, the thyroid gland or the esophagus located behind the trachea, bleeding and infections, especially if the tracheostomy tube used is in place for a long period of time. A so-called tracheotomy can be performed, for example, if long-term ventilation is required. In this procedure, a cannula with a connected breathing tube is inserted into the upper part of the trachea between the 3rd and 4th cartilage clasp so that air can flow in through it and the oxygen supply to the lungs is ensured in this way. The resulting hole is called a tracheostoma (stoma = mouth, opening).
