Tracheotomy in the morbidly obese patient.
Tracheotomy in the morbidly obese patient (weight more than 130 kg) is a difficult procedure. Because of the thickness of the anterior part of the neck and the redundant chin, most commercially available cannulas are inadequate. A custom-made tube is designed by splitting an endotracheal tube along its longitudinal axis and bending the split sides into a T shape. A modification of the available cannulas is proposed to make them suitable for the morbidly obese patient: they should be longer and straighter toward the external opening and an optional extension should be provided to bypass the double chin.
D000328:Adult; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000628:therapy; D014140:Tracheotomy / Q000379:methods