Cricothyroidostomy for airway access.
During the past 4 1/2 years, 43 cricothyroidostomies have been done at the VA Medical Center of Clarksburg, West Virginia, in place of a tracheostomy. Cricothyroidostomy is much easier to perform for the untrained as well as the trained physician. It is recommended for emergency relief of acute upper airway obstruction, and it also should be considered for use in nonemergency cases in which airway access is needed in adult patients. The traditionally feared complication of subglottic stenosis has not been encountered in this small series.
D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D008722:Methods