Anaesthesia
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Tracheostomies are currently used for airway management in patients requiring long-term respiratory assistance. The dilatational percutaneous technique of forming tracheostomies is a valuable alternative to traditional surgical 'open' techniques. In this study, we tested a new dilatational percutaneous tracheostomy device using a balloon dilator with a particular innovative shape (G-Trach). ⋯ The G-Trach seems to be a safe and easy new dilatational percutaneous technique for forming tracheostomies. The minimal subcutaneous tissue dissection could potentially decrease complications when compared with standard dilatational percutaneous tracheostomy methods. To confirm this hypothesis a human trial is ongoing.