Lateral mediastinal tracheostomy in benign disease: an uncommon procedure for a rare indication.

Tracheostomy is sometimes required for long-term ventilation in patients with a challenging cervical anatomy. We present a case of a patient requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation with prohibitive cervical anatomy for standard tracheostomy secondary to severe ankylosing spondylitis and a cervical spine fracture.
(2010 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)