Retrospective Evaluation of Follow-up Results of Newborns Who Underwent Tracheostomy

With the advances in science and technology in recent years, the rate of survival of high-risk newborns has increased in neonatal intensive care units. Some of these babies are left in the neonatal intensive care unit for a long time, and because of the need for respiratory support, tracheostomy is opened and discharged with home mechanical ventilator devices.

Especially babies with severe BPD cannot be extubated and they may be exposed to trauma of long-term intubation. Subglottic stenosis is the most common result of this trauma. Some of the babies with severe BPD are discharged by the otolaryngology specialist doctor before discharge, to prevent both long-term intubation complications, airway obstruction or tracheal stenosis and adaptation to the home mechanical ventilator.

In addition to babies with BPD, tracheostomy is opened to babies in the early period due to various developmental tracheal anomalies in our unit. Some of these are congenital tracheal stenosis, congenital laryngeal atresia, laryngeal web.

In the following process, the growth of the baby, the development of the lungs and auxiliary respiratory muscles and the need for mechanical ventilator support are eliminated and the patient can wean from the ventilator support. In addition, the tracheostomy procedure secures the patient's airway and allows it to be fed easily by mouth and the comfort of the patient.

When the tracheostomy requirement of the patient disappears (mechanical ventilator, when oxygen is not needed), tracheostomy closure can be performed to ensure the patient has normal larynx functions (sounding, speech, airway protection reflexes).