Cricothyroidotomy is a surgical procedure that involves making an incision through the skin and cricothyroid membrane in the neck to establish an emergency airway when standard methods like intubation are not feasible. It is typically performed in life-threatening situations to quickly oxygenate the patient.
There are two basic types of cricothyroidotomy: needle cricothyroidotomy and surgical cricothyroidotomy.
Cricothyroidotomy is generally considered a procedure of last resort, to be performed when other ways of opening the patient's airway have failed or are unavailable.One alternative to cricothyroidotomy is a technique known as transtracheal jet ventilation
In a needle cricothyroidotomy, the doctor uses a 12- or 14-gauge catheter and needle assembly.
Cricothyroidotomy is a subtype of surgical procedure known as a tracheotomy ; in some situations, it is considered an elective alternative to other types of tracheotomy
Needle cricothyroidotomy is the only form of this procedure that can be done in children under 12 years of age.
The risks of a needle cricothyroidotomy include: external scar from needle puncture.bleeding.accidental perforation of the esophagus.hypercarbia (overly high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood)
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Another study found that the most important single cause of injuries requiring emergency cricothyroidotomy was traffic accidents (51%), followed by gunshot and knife wounds (29%); falls (5%); and criminal assault (5%).
large visible external scar from the incision.subglottic stenosis.bleeding.accidental perforation of the esophagus.fracture of the larynx.pneumothorax.
Cricothyroidotomy is the medical term meaning surgical incision into the cricoid.
the procedure is relatively uncommon in the general population, even in emergency situations.the incidence varied between 1.7% and 2.7%
Most cricothyroidotomies are performed on adolescent and young adult males, because this group accounts for the majority of cases of neck trauma in the United States