Pedia-Trake

Anesthesiologists are responsible for maintaining the patient's respiration during surgery. Usually this can be done using oral airways and tracheal tubes. Rarely, in cases of obstructed breathing, an airway must be placed through an incision in the neck into the patient's tracheal (windpipe.) In an emergency, this may be done by placing the incision for the airway through the cricothyroid membrane, between the thyroid and the cricoid cartilages, rather than through the trachea itself. The body's cricothyroid ligament is a thick membrane that connects the cartilage around the trachea (wind pipe) to the cartilage around the thyroid gland. This incision is called a cricothyrotomy.

In the 1970s and 1980s, American physician Sol Weiss, M.D., invented several devices for performing cricothyrotomy. His "Nu-Trake", for adult patients, was introduced by 1980. His "Pedia-Trake", for children one year old or more, was introduced by 1984. Both were first made by International Medical Devices, Inc., of Northridge, California. By 2009, the trademarked name "Pedia-Trake" was being used by both Bivona Medical Technologies, of Gary, Indiana, and Portex Limited, of Hythe, England.

Gift of Susan Dorsch, M.D. and Jerry Dorsch, M.D.