title: Safety and practicability of percutaneous translaryngeal tracheotomy (Fantoni technique) in surgery of maxillofacial and oropharyngeal tumours--own results and review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The study examines the suitability of the Fantoni method of translaryngeal tracheotomy (TLT) for airway management after surgery due to oropharyngeal and maxillofacial tumours.
  
  
  METHODS
  During a 4-year period, 156 translaryngeal pull-through tracheotomies were performed in 145 patients. This method is the only puncture tracheotomy technique that involves a dilatation process from inside the trachea to the outside through the skin and differs from other established puncture methods regarding practicability and frequency of complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean puncture time (from puncture of the trachea to correct tube placement) was 10.1+/-4.8 min. With an oxygen supply of FiO(2)=1.0 the oxygen saturation prior to TLT was 98.4+/-1.29%, and the lowest median saturation value during the TLT procedure was 96.7+/-3.9%. No serious complications such as bleeding, loss of airway, pneumothorax or death were observed. Complications occurring during the TLT procedure were exclusively technical and at no time were they life-threatening.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TLT is a technique with few complications and a straightforward procedure for those familiar with the method. It has some advantages compared with other puncture techniques which appear to commend TLT in terms of safety for the patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. horst.adam@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: Horst
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hemprich
authors.forename: Cornelius
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oeken
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schramek
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frerich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011677:Punctures; D012449:Safety; D014132:Trachea / Q000293:injuries; D014140:Tracheotomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen