An evaluation of a new percutaneous tracheostomy kit.

The Portex percutaneous trachestomy kit incorporates guidewire dilating forceps which pass over a guidewire and perform rapid dilatation. These forceps have curved jaws which are designed to reduce possible damage to the lateral and posterior walls of the trachea. The guidewire dilating forceps are first opened in front of the trachea to dilate the pretracheal tissues and then opened in the trachea to dilate the anterior tracheal wall. A tracheostomy tube is then passed over the guidewire and into the trachea. The procedure was rapid and successful in all 20 patients, with no serious complications. Mean time to perform tracheostomy was 4.9 min (range 90 s-15 min). Overall, the Portex percutaneous tracheostomy kit worked well and proved a rapid and acceptable method for performing percutaneous tracheostomy.