Tracheostomy Tube or Stoma: Your New Airway

If you have a tracheostomy tube

Your tracheostomy (trach) tube has been chosen to fit well and work right for you. You’ll learn how to keep it clean and clear. Often, a trach tube is needed for only a short time. Your surgeon will tell you how long to use the tube. If you don’t need a new airway after surgery, the hole in the front of your throat will close on its own after the trach tube has been removed. You will have a dressing over the site while it heals. In some cases, surgery is needed to close the hole.

If you have a stoma

Your larynx may have been removed during surgery. If so, you’ll continue to breathe through the hole in your throat. This hole is called a stoma. It's also called a permanent tracheostomy. Tell those who care for you that this is your only airway. In a medical emergency, a breathing tube can't be put in through your nose or mouth. You will be shown how to care for your stoma. Support groups can help you get used to having a new airway. And you can return to work, family life, and many of the activities you did before surgery.

You will need follow-up visits for your tracheostomy and its care.

When to contact your doctor

Contact your doctor right away if you have:

• A red or painful stoma.

• A small amount of bleeding, that stops promptly, from the tube or stoma.

• Yellow, smelly, bloody, or thick mucus around or inside your stoma.

• Pain while cleaning your airway.

• A persistent cough.

Call 911

Call 911 if any of the following occur:

• Trouble breathing or wheezing

• Coughing up blood

• Large amount of bleeding, or persistent bleeding, from the tracheostomy site

• Swelling around the trach tube or stoma