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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.

Today, I have a question from Ella, who says, “Does a tracheostomy affect the brain?” It’s a very straightforward question.

It seems like a very simple question, but the answer to it is not as simple as the question, that’s why I make this video so that I can bring light to the intensive care environment for families of critically ill patients in intensive care because it takes years and decades of experience in that environment to really go down to the nitty-gritty and answer questions.

So anyway, the purpose of a tracheostomy in intensive care, most of the time, is to enable prolonged time on the ventilator and then weaning off the ventilator, a breathing tube in the mouth can only stay in for 10 to 14 days, the risks of ventilator associated pneumonia, prolonged induced coma and the negative side effects of that are simply too high, to not do a tracheostomy.

So, here is how a tracheostomy affects the brain in someone who can’t be weaned off the ventilator and the breathing tube assuming they have no brain injury, someone with a healthy brain. One of the main advantages of a tracheostomy is that sedation and opiates can be switched off, and that someone then has the ability to wake up.

So, your loved one, at the moment, assuming he or she is on a breathing tube and a ventilator, they would be in an induced coma, induced by sedatives and opiates. The minute the tracheostomy is performed, most of the time, sedatives and opiates can be switched off, that will get the brain to wake up and that will help your critically loved one to wean off the ventilator once they’re more awake. So, that’s how tracheostomy affects the brain for someone without a brain injury, without a stroke, without an anoxic brain injury, without a hypoxic brain injury, and without a traumatic brain injury.

If someone had a stroke, traumatic brain injury, anoxic brain injury, hypoxic brain injury, an early tracheostomy might also be advantageous because, once again, you could switch off sedation often quicker, but not in all cases. For example, if someone has a traumatic brain injury and they have high intracranial pressures, high brain pressures, you can’t just switch off sedation and opiates, so it’s really a case-by-case basis, but someone with a brain injury and early tracheostomy might mean there’s minimal need for sedation and opiates, or there’s a lower need for sedation and opiates. Again, helping a critically ill patient to wake up quicker and then assess how are they waking up, is their brain functioning, to what degree is the brain functioning, and so forth.

So, that’s how a tracheostomy affects the brain, I hope that answers your question. I’ll also put a link below this video, “What are the risks and the benefits of a tracheostomy?” So, go and check out that video and blog post, because that will also explain more on what are the risks and benefits of a tracheostomy. Should you give consent to one? Should you not give consent to one? It’s important that you make the right decision there.

Because we get so many questions for families of critically ill patients in intensive care daily and because there’s not enough good information out there for families of critically ill patients in intensive care, that’s why we create the membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care at intensivecarehotline.com by you clicking on the membership link there, you can get access and become a member in our membership, or you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In the membership, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and via email, and we answer all questions intensive care related.

In the membership, you also have access to 21 exclusive eBooks and 21 exclusive videos that are specifically written and designed for our members and for families of critically ill patients in intensive care. You will have exclusive access to that because those eBooks and videos will help you manage the territory that is intensive care. It’s incredibly difficult, and those eBooks and videos help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, and it helps you to make sure your loved one gets the best care and treatment.

I have worked in critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families of critically ill patients in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com. I can say without any hint of exaggeration that we have saved many, many lives in intensive care with our consulting and advocacy.

You can verify that by clicking on our testimonial link at intensivecarehotline.com or by watching some of our client videos in our podcast section.

That’s why I offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly and I will give you a crash course in intensive care, once again, that will help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence. I also talked to doctors and nurses directly, that is a really strong leverage point for you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence. Time and time again, I find that when I talk to intensive care teams directly with you, they haven’t even told you half of what’s going on because you don’t know what questions to ask.

The biggest challenge for families in intensive care is that they don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know what to look for. They don’t know what questions to ask. They don’t know their rights, and they don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care.

That’s also why we offer medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time. We also offer medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are simply suspecting medical negligence.

I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams, once again, making sure that you have a strategy, making sure that you often get best care and treatment.

All of that you get at the intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send us an email to support@intensivecarehotline.com with your questions.

If you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care. Click the like button, click the notification bell, share this video with your friends and families, and comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have from this video.

Thank you so much for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.

Take care for now.

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