CLINICAL EVALUATION OF CRICOTHYROIDOTOMY

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 149  (3) , 365-368
Abstract
Cricothyroidotomies were performed on 147 patients. Cricothyroidotomy was demonstrated to be a rapid and technically simple and precise procedure. The incidence of complications was 8.6%. Catastrophic complications occurred in 2 patients who had severe laryngeal stenosis. Cricothyroidotomy was performed following prolonged endotracheal intubation in these 2 patients who had airway obstruction immediately following endotracheal extubation. In both patients, there was a glottic and subglottic component to the laryngeal stenosis suggesting that both endotracheal intubation and cricothyroidotomy played a critical part in the development of laryngeal stenosis. Cricothyroidotomy is useful, particularly in emergency situations and in patients with median sternotomy incisions but is contraindicated in patients having endotracheal intubation of more than 7 days'' duration or in patients having airway obstruction develop following removal of an endotracheal tube except as a temporary lifesaving procedure.

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