IN 1921 JACKSON1-4 condemned the "high" tracheostomy because of the production of subglottic stenosis and pointed out, in 1943, the increasing incidence of crush injury to the larynx with the rising number of motorists on the highways. Severe fracture and collapse of the cricoid cartilage following trauma inevitably causes similar stenosis. The chondritis of the cricoid cartilage, chondromalacia, and eventual fibrosis which occurs following the above insults produces a crippling condition in the patient who then becomes dependent on a tracheostomy for an adequate airway. Murphy et al5 cite four cases of stenosis in the trachea following the use of a 36-mm cuff on a metal tracheotomy tube which was utilized for respirator treatment for periods of time varying between 6 and 24 days. In 1953, Conley6 comprehensively described six techniques for repair of the stenotic subglottic air passage which should be noted.