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Breathing and ventilation

Tracheostomy

A small opening made in the front of the neck into the windpipe, usually so a ventilator can connect directly.

What it means

A surgeon makes an opening below the voice box and holds it open with a short tube. Air can then reach the lungs without passing through the mouth and nose. It is both the operation and the opening it leaves.

Why you might hear it

  • It is the step that makes long-term invasive ventilation possible.
  • It may also be mentioned when secretions are very hard to clear.

People who may help

Where Compass goes into this

About this explanation

These are plain explanations of words you may come across, not advice about your own situation. Where a word matters to a decision, the question pages go into it properly, and your own team is the place to take it.