Trach

Today Adele remains in the ICU at Community Hospital.  Her breathing tube is beginning to become more of a concern due to Adele's strong desire to have it removed.  Since her arms can no longer reach to pull it out she has gotten creative and found a way to wiggle it lose with her tongue.   Unfortunately completely removing the oxygen support is not an option at this time.  The doctor spoke with us this morning about performing a tracheotomy.  With a tracheotomy the tube will go into the windpipe and deliver air directly to the lungs.  They are hoping this will be more comfortable for her than the breathing tube currently is.  

Tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the neck and opening a direct airway through the trachea. The opening can serve independently as an airway or as a site for a tracheal tube to be inserted; this tube allows a person to breathe without the use of her nose or mouth.   

Completed tracheostomy:

1 - Vocal folds
2 - Thyroid cartilage
3 - Cricoid cartilage
4 - Tracheal rings
5 - Balloon cuff

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/tracheotomy#ixzz1ITYD4rvV

 

 

"If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or Fight Like Hell."   Lance Armstrong