critical care medicine
How To Do a Percutaneous Cricothyrotomy
Complications of Percutaneous Cricothyrotomy
Early complications,recognized immediately or within hours after cricothyrotomy, include the following: Bleeding, sometimes uncontrollable Insertion of tube into neck tissues rather than trachea, typically immediately recognized by absence of breath sounds on lung auscultation and remediated by reinsertion of tube into trachea Injury to or perforation of the posterior aspect of the trachea Larynx, vocal cord, or thyroid injury Late complications,recognized weeks or months after cricothyrotomy, include the following: Progressive airway obstruction due to subglottic stenosis and stomal granulation tissue Voice changes, which are chronic but may resolve with time Wound infection 