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Long-term Follow-up of Griggs Percutaneous Tracheostomy With Spiral CT and Questionnaire^*

^* From the Department of Anaesthesia (Drs. Steele, Evans, Stockwell, and Afaq) and the Department of Radiology (Mss. Robson and Dourado and Dr. Tayar), St. Helier Hospital, Carshalton, UK.

Correspondence to: Adrian P. H. Steele, MB BChir, Department of Anaesthesia, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Rd, London W12 O4S, UK; e-mail: steele{at}primex.co.uk

Objective: To assess late complications following percutaneous tracheostomy using the Griggs technique.

Design: Observational cohort study

Setting: General ICU of a 700-bed district general hospital in the United Kingdom.

Patients: Twenty-five patients who underwent Griggs tracheostomy in the ICU and survived for at least 6 months after decannulation.

Intervention: Patients were invited to attend for assessment by questionnaire and for spiral CT of the trachea.

Results: Eight patients had moderate tracheal dilatation, two patients were permanently hoarse, nine patients had minor voice changes, no patient had tracheal stenosis, and no patient had a disfiguring scar.

Conclusion: Following Griggs percutaneous tracheostomy, 8 of 25 patients developed moderate tracheal dilatation, and none developed a tracheal stenosis. The cosmetic result after Griggs tracheostomy is good, but the number of patients with minor voice changes is high. A further investigation of long-term outcome following Griggs tracheostomy is necessary.

Key Words: complications tracheal dilatation • CT • percutaneous tracheostomy • tracheal stenosis

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				R. Dollner, M. Verch, P. Schweiger, C. Deluigi, B. Graf, and F. Wallner Laryngotracheoscopic Findings in Long-term Follow-up After Griggs Tracheostomy* Chest, July 1, 2002; 122(1): 206 - 212. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]