Tracheostomy is used in the management of upper airway obstruction, maintenance of prolonged mechanical ventilation, and anaesthesia for some surgeries of the upper airway and pharynx.
Figure T.20:A midline skin incision should be made caudally from the larynx. Drawn by S.J. Elmhurst BA Hons (www.livingart.org.uk) and reproduced with her permission
Figure T.21:The sternohyoideus muscles should be separated to visualize the trachea. Drawn by S.J. Elmhurst BA Hons (www.livingart.org.uk) and reproduced with her permission
Figure T.22:Stay sutures should be placed around the tracheal rings cranial and caudal to the incision site. Drawn by S.J. Elmhurst BA Hons (www.livingart.org.uk) and reproduced with her permission
Figure T.23:The tracheostomy tube should be inserted into the trachea through the incision in the annular ligament. Drawn by S.J. Elmhurst BA Hons (www.livingart.org.uk) and reproduced with her permission