Tracheostomy scar. Close up of the hole made in the throat of an 80 year-old male patient after a tracheostomy operation. A tracheostomy involves maki

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Tracheostomy scar. Close up of the hole made in the throat of an 80 year-old male patient after a tracheostomy operation. A tracheostomy involves making a hole through the throat into the windpipe (trachea) and inserting a tube to make an effective airway. Such a procedure may be required in an emergency, such as when a foreign body is blocking a pathway. More commonly though, a tracheostomy is performed on a person who has lost the ability to breath naturally and is undergoing long-term ventilation. It may also be used in cases of coma, when a person cannot keep saliva & other secretions out of the trachea.

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Photo credit: © DR P. MARAZZI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: healthcare, medical, medicine, post-op, scar, scars, skin, throat, trachea, tracheostomy, trachostomy