Emergency airway puncture

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Cricoid cartilage

Emergency airway puncture

Emergency airway puncture - series

Emergency airway puncture is an emergency insertion of a hollow needle into the airway (larynx). It is used to treat life-threatening choking.

Needle cricothyrotomy

In an emergency situation, when someone is choking and all other efforts to assist with breathing have failed, a hollow needle can be inserted into the throat, just below the Adam's apple (cricoid cartilage). In hospital settings, a small skin incision may be made before inserting the needle or tube.

A cricothyrotomy is recommended as an emergency procedure to relieve an airway obstruction until surgical placement of a breathing tube (tracheostomy) can be done.

Review Date: 08/03/2005
Reviewed By: Alden J. Pearl M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.