If a patient has a tube placed in the lung, it means that they cannot breathe independently and need to rely on a ventilator to maintain respiration. At this time, it is absolutely not recommended to remove these tubes. It is very necessary to understand the advantages and disadvantages of lung tube placement.

In clinical practice, tracheotomy is needed in many diverse situations, such as when chronic obstructive pulmonary disease develops into pulmonary encephalopathy, when cardiac arrest requires tracheotomy, when cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases cause coughing and sputum, and when complete upper limb tracheotomy is needed. The prognosis after tracheotomy for different diseases is different.

For example, in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary encephalopathy that occurs with respiratory failure, after tracheotomy, with active treatment, the patient’s consciousness will change from unclear to clear, pulmonary function tests will recover, and the survival rate of patients using minimally invasive ventilators after discharge is very high. If the patient belongs to tracheotomy due to sudden cardiac arrest, after active treatment, the patient’s respiration and heart recovery will not be affected after extubation, and the lifespan will be longer. If the patient belongs to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, after tracheotomy, the lifespan of the patient will also be affected along with the improvement of the patient’s condition.

Tracheotomy is a key method to maintain the patency of the respiratory system. Tracheotomy can be performed for those who meet the following conditions:

(1) The total area of lung lesions does not exceed 40%, and respiratory failure is mainly caused by sputum blockage, requiring the removal of a large amount of lower respiratory secretions.

(2) Intractable airway obstruction (such as acute laryngitis).

(3) Avoid aspiration when there is swallowing numbness or deep coma.

(4) Perform reasonable external chest compression.

Tracheotomy is generally performed through the mouth, while newborns and young babies can have tubes placed through the nose. The advantage is that it is beneficial for stability, can be placed for a long time, but it is not convenient for gastrointestinal decompression. The time after tube placement is generally not suitable to exceed 48 to 72 hours, otherwise, it may cause laryngeal edema and severe breathing difficulties after extubation. After tube placement, efforts should be made to minimize the movement of the soft tube to reduce its irritability to the throat. The lumen of the tube is prone to be blocked by secretions, so attention must be paid to perform gastrointestinal decompression regularly to maintain the patency of the tube and the respiratory system. The tracheotomy and dental pad should be fixed securely to maintain the proper placement of the tube, avoiding it from slipping into one side of the main bronchus or slipping out of the bronchus.