Background
Tracheotomy is a surgical procedure that consists of opening of the airway anterior tracheal wall and creating a stoma where a cannula is placed into the trachea to facilitate ventilation. The term tracheotomy refers only to the trachea surgical incision and tracheostomy refers to the creation of a stoma and the stoma itself. The first cases of tracheostomy in children have been documented as being performed at the beginning of the 17th century.(1)
Tracheostomy procedures increased in the mid-19th century with the diphtheria epidemic that affected Europe. In 1833, Trousseau reported that 50 children were saved because of this procedure.(2)