[A brief history of tracheotomy]

Tracheotomy was a term introduced by the German surgeon Heister in 1718. Other similar terms used before included bronchotomy and tracheostomy proposed by Negus in 1938. Being an old emergent operation, this operation can be traced back to the 1st century B.C. It was not until the 1920s-30s that this operation became a popularly applied and gradually completed one rather than an emergent operation adopted when there were no other alternatives.