Tracheostomy

Learn how to perform a tracheostomy procedure by watching this video. Position the animal in dorsal recumbency with a sandbag under the neck. Make a midline skin incision on the ventral neck caudal to the larynx approximately mid-neck and dissect into the subcutaneous fat. Incise the subcutaneous muscle and identify the paired sternohyoideus muscles. Use Gelpi retractors to aid visualisation. Dissect the loose fascia superficial to the trachea to identify the desired tracheal space. Make a tracheal incision between the tracheal rings and extend as necessary using scissors, but avoid an excessive incision and the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Place stay sutures around the tracheal rings proximal and distal to the tracheostomy, then select and insert an appropriately sized tracheostomy tube. Label the stay sutures so you know which is proximal and which is distal e.g. top and bottom. The skin can be sutured just proximal or distal to the tube if the incision was too long. Secure the tube with tapes or a bandage around the neck and tie the bandage in a bow at the back of the neck.