ABSTRACT

Tracheostomy is one of the oldest surgical procedures. The percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) technique, first used by Shelden has been modified by Ciaglia. They reported that the technique facilitates the procedure and reduces complications. PDT has become a safe and frequently used bedside procedure nowadays. Use of bronchoscopy during PDT is suggested by many authors, but it has logistic limitations. Snake cam (borescope) is an industrial camera system used in many different areas such as pipeline, welding, and sewer pipe inspection. There are different sizes and many different models that can be plugged into smartphones with micro USB and can be easily found cheaply in the market. The camera that we used has a light adjustment button but camera angle cannot be changed. It has not its own washing and aspiration port, however, it is waterproof. The device, which is known as snake cam on the market, can offer the advantages of bronchoscopy. Use of snake cam with PDT technique is easy, cheap, portable and effective.