CRICOTHYROTOMY

Course overview

THE SURGICAL AIRWAY IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT IN THE WORLD OF MEDICINE. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS INDICATE THAT SURGEONS MAY HAVE PERFORMED THIS PROCEDURE THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO. CRICOTHYROTOMY IS PERFORMED BY INSERTING A TUBE THROUGH AN INCISION IN THE CRICOTHYROID MEMBRANE. TO PERFORM A CRICOTHYROTOMY UNDER EMERGENT CIRCUMSTANCES, PHYSICIANS MUST HAVE SOME KNOWLEDGE OF THE RELEVANT ANATOMY. TODAY, THE EMERGENCY CRICOTHYROIDOTOMY IS THE SURGICAL RESCUE TECHNIQUE OF CHOICE FOR THE FAILED AIRWAY IN ADULTS. IT IS CONSIDERED A MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD PROCEDURE THAN TRACHEOSTOMY. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE INDICATIONS, CONTRAINDICATIONS, AND TECHNIQUE INVOLVED IN PERFORMING A CRICOTHYROIDOTOMY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN ENSURING AIRWAY ACCESS IN DIFFICULT PATIENTS.