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If you want to know how a tracheostomy procedure works, stay tuned. I will explain it to you today.

My name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So, we’re working with a member because we have a membership of families of critically ill patients in intensive care. One of our members ask, “Normally, how does a tracheostomy procedure work?” And that is obviously a very good question. Even though I’ve explained it in other videos, I probably haven’t answered the question as direct as this one. So, let’s dive right into it.

So, tracheostomy is usually carried out for patients who cannot be weaned off the ventilator and extubated from the endotracheal tube for about 10 to 14 days. Tracheostomy is done to deliver oxygen to the lungs if the patient is unable to breathe normally due to some causes like weak respiratory muscles, injuries, airway problems, obstructions, cancer tumors, vocal cord paralysis, stenosis, and other medical conditions. A tracheostomy should be performed as soon as the need for prolonged airway support is determined or recognized. 

Patients with respiratory failure who cannot be weaned or removed from the ventilator are advised to have a tracheostomy. Patients who are on a prolonged period of time on the ventilator, patients who are not strong enough or awake enough to cough up their secretions are also advised for tracheostomy to avoid further complications like aspiration pneumonia, lung collapse, and many others.

Other indications for a tracheostomy are if someone can’t swallow, then the tracheostomy is indicated as well.

Now, in regards to the procedure as such, here’s what you need to know. Most tracheostomy nowadays are done at the bedside, which means they are done in intensive care as a reasonably quick surgical procedure by intensivist even. So, that means I have seen tracheostomies being done in ICU at the bedside within 30 to 45 minutes.

Now, in some hospitals, the tracheostomy is not being done at the bedside and is actually being done in the operating room or in theaters.  So, an ENT surgeon usually then performs the tracheostomy in the operating room or in theaters. Most of the time, it’s being done in the operating room or in theaters as opposed to in ICU where literally someone is just poking where the ICU consultant just pokes a hole into the neck under anesthesia.

But the reason someone might have a tracheostomy in the operating room or operating theaters is if it’s a more difficult procedure, if it’s not straightforward, if there’s potentially anatomical problems that means maybe there’s a short neck, there’s something wrong with the tracheostomy, with the bones, or with a cartilage, or whatever the case may be, that is when a tracheostomy might be done in the operating room. Also, when someone is on high oxygen levels, then the procedure might also be done in the operating room, just for safety aspect.

So, once the procedure is done, your family member should return back to ICU or should go back to normal ventilation settings but should also be taken off sedation and opiates as quickly as possible. That is one of the main goals to have someone with a tracheostomy to stop sedation, stop opiates, and go back to normality as quickly as possible, get them mobilized, get them to do physical therapy. That is really, really important.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

I have worked in critical care nursing for 25 years in three different countries where I have worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com.

I can very confidently say that we have saved many lives for our clients and members for their loved ones in intensive care with our consulting and advocacy for families in intensive care. You can verify that on our testimonial section at intensivecarehotline.com if you click on the testimonial link there, you will get all of our testimonials. If you go to intensivecarehotline.com and you click on the podcast section, you will get some client interviews on our podcast to verify that we’ve saved some lives.

Now, we have helped hundreds of members and clients over the years, and we can help you as well if you have a loved one in intensive care. That’s why we created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care. You can become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or simply send us an email to [email protected] with your questions. In the membership, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and by email and we answer all questions intensive care related.

In the membership, you also have exclusive access to 21 e-books and 21 videos that I have personally written and recorded helping you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind control, power, influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment always.

I also do one-on-one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Zoom, WhatsApp, Skype, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I handhold you through this once in a lifetime situation that you simply can’t afford to get wrong. I also talk to doctors and nurses directly on your behalf or with you. When I talk to doctors and directly, I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one, critically ill in intensive care. I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams.

We also do medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time. We also do medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are suspecting medical negligence.

All of that, you get at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or simply send us an email to [email protected] 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, comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have, share the video with your friends and families.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on a show. You will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel or if you are a subscriber to my intensivecarehotline.com email newsletter.

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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