Complications after surgical tracheostomy

Objective: to define the prevalence of tracheotomy complications and list the factors leading to complications and manage the complications. materials and methods: this study is cross sectional descriptive study conducted at combined military hospital,peshawar from january 2012 to january 2013. a total of 250 patients were included in the study,195 were males and 55 females. complications of tracheostomy are classified as early occurring with in 24 hours of surgery,intermediate occurring between 24 hours to 14 days and late occurring after 14th day. analysis was stated on the basis of observations of any complication observed post operatively like secondary hemorrhage,tube blockade,decanulation apnea,infection,pneumothorax etc during the follow up period. results: most common complications observed in our setup was hemorrhage,tube dislodgment and obstruction,apnea while infection crust formation and tracheocutaneous fistula are least common,all were managed successfully with no death attributable to our procedure. conclusion: our study demonstrates that hemorrhage,apnea,tube obstruction and tube dislodgment are most commonly observed complication in our setup and all were managed successfully with satisfactory outcome. © 2008 khyber medical college peshawar.