T-Tube Tracheal Stent

TLDR

A prior study used a rigid two‑section acrylic T‑tube as a tracheal stent and tracheotomy tube, but its difficult and costly manufacture prompted a redesign. The redesigned T‑tube is a flexible one‑piece silicone rubber device inserted immediately after cervical tracheal reconstruction, with its tracheotomy portion left open for several days.

Abstract

IN A PREVIOUS publication¹which offered a technique for reconstruction of the cervical trachea, a T-shaped acrylic tube was used both as a tracheal stent and as a tracheotomy tube. * Because of its rigidity it was necessary to construct the acrylic tube in two sections to facilitate its insertion into the trachea. The manufacture of this tube was technically difficult and costly. This stimulated a revision. The new T-tube is a flexible onepiece unit made from silicone rubber † (Fig 1). <h3>Indications for Usage</h3> <i>Following Reconstruction of the Cervical Trachea</i>.—The adult size tube (12 mm and 15 mm outside diameter) has been used as a stent after reconstruction of the cervical trachea. The tube is inserted immediately after completion of reconstruction whether it be a one- or two-stage procedure. For a few days following its insertion the tracheotomy portion of the T-tube remains open for the purpose of