tracheotomy

American  

[trey-kee-ot-uh-mee] / ˌtreɪ kiˈɒt ə mi /

noun

Surgery.

tracheotomies plural

1. the operation of cutting into the trachea.

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tracheotomy British  

/ ˌtrækɪˈɒtəmɪ /

noun

1. surgical incision into the trachea, usually performed when the upper air passage has been blocked

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Other Word Forms

• tracheotomist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of tracheotomy

First recorded in 1720–30; tracheo- + -tomy

Explanation

When someone can't breathe because their airway is blocked, a surgical procedure called a tracheotomy might be necessary, when a doctor makes an incision through their neck and into their windpipe. The medical term tracheotomy comes from trachea, the anatomical name for "windpipe," and the suffix -tomy, from the Greek tomia, "a cutting." In simple terms, a tracheotomy is the cutting of someone's trachea. Emergency tracheotomies are commonly performed when a person has choked on an object that becomes wedged in their airway. A successful tracheotomy allows the person to breathe again, until the object can be removed.

Example Sentences

Tracheotomy may be called for on account of urgent dyspnœa.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander

Tracheotomy is only a means to that end.

From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier

Tracheotomy may be urgently indicated for foreign body dyspnea, but not for foreign body removal.

From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier

Tracheotomy probably has a beneficial effect on the disease.

From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Jackson, Chevalier

Tracheotomy, too, saves but few of those who take the disease at such a time.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various