Objective: To assess late complications following percutaneous tracheostomy
using the Griggs technique,
Design: Observational cohort study
Setting: General ICU of a 700-bed district general hospital in the United K
ingdom,
Patients: Twenty-five patients who underwent Griggs tracheostomy in the ICU
and survived for at least 6 months after decannulation,
Intervention: Patients were invited to attend for assessment by questionnai
re and for spiral CT of the trachea.
Results: Eight patients had moderate tracheal dilatation, two patients were
permanently hoarse, nine patients had minor voice changes, no patient had
tracheal stenosis, and no patient had a disfiguring scar.
Conclusion: Following Griggs percutaneous tracheostomy, 8 of 25 patients de
veloped moderate tracheal dilatation, and none developed a tracheal stenosi
s, The cosmetic result after Griggs tracheostomy is good, but the number of
patients with minor voice changes is high. A further investigation of long
-term outcome following Griggs tracheostomy is necessary.