Station 8 — Tracheostomy and Emergency Airway Procedure
🎯 Candidate Task
You are provided with a tracheostomy set and an anatomical model. Identify the important landmarks and essential equipment, then demonstrate or describe the correct sequence for performing an open tracheostomy and the immediate precautions required after tube insertion.
⚡ Model Station Answer
- I would position the patient supine with the neck extended, if clinically safe, and identify the thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage, tracheal midline and suprasternal notch.
- After aseptic preparation, the tissues are dissected in the midline and the strap muscles separated to expose the trachea, dealing with the thyroid isthmus as required.
- A tracheal opening is created around the second to third tracheal ring level and an appropriately sized cuffed tracheostomy tube is inserted.
- I would immediately confirm ventilation with chest movement and capnography, secure the tube and monitor for bleeding, obstruction, displacement or other early complications.
🔎 How to Perform / Approach
- Step 1 — Prepare:
Call for appropriate assistance, prepare airway/resuscitation equipment, suction, oxygen, tracheostomy tubes and surgical instruments. - Step 2 — Position:
Place the patient supine with a shoulder roll and gentle neck extension when safe, exposing the anterior neck. - Step 3 — Identify landmarks:
Palpate the thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage, midline trachea, upper tracheal rings and suprasternal notch. - Step 4 — Expose the trachea:
Use aseptic technique, make the skin incision, dissect through the superficial tissues and separate the strap muscles in the midline. Retract or divide the thyroid isthmus if necessary for exposure. - Step 5 — Create the airway opening:
Clearly identify the tracheal rings and, in coordination with the anaesthetic team, create the tracheal opening at the appropriate upper tracheal level, commonly around the second to third rings. - Step 6 — Insert the tube:
Introduce the cuffed tracheostomy tube with its obturator, remove the obturator immediately after insertion, inflate the cuff when indicated and connect to the breathing circuit or oxygen source. - Step 7 — Confirm and secure:
Confirm effective ventilation by chest movement and capnography, suction if required, securely fix the tube and monitor for bleeding, false passage, obstruction, displacement, subcutaneous emphysema or respiratory deterioration.
🖼️ Visual Learning
Open Tracheostomy — Landmarks, Equipment and Procedural Sequence

🎥 Practical Demonstration
Surgical Tracheostomy Formation
Watch the operative sequence with particular attention to positioning, surgical exposure, communication with the anaesthetic team, tracheostomy-tube insertion and confirmation of correct placement.
📝 Important Viva Questions
1. What is the basic principle of a tracheostomy?
Answer: It creates a direct opening through the anterior tracheal wall so that a tube can establish and maintain an airway through the neck.
2. Which surface landmarks should you identify before performing a tracheostomy?
Answer: The thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage, midline trachea, tracheal rings and suprasternal notch.
3. At what tracheal level is an open tracheostomy commonly created?
Answer: It is generally created in the upper trachea around the second to third tracheal ring level, while avoiding injury to the cricoid and surrounding structures.
4. How do you confirm that the tracheostomy tube is correctly positioned?
Answer: Confirm effective ventilation, bilateral chest movement and exhaled carbon dioxide by capnography before the tube is securely fixed.
5. Name important immediate complications after tracheostomy.
Answer: Important early problems include bleeding, tube obstruction or displacement, false passage, subcutaneous emphysema and respiratory deterioration.
