I changed my trach every 5 weeks when I had a Shiley cuffed trach. If I went longer, I always got a bad infection. Now I change my trach daily, and the secretions have almost cleared completely. I use a Shiley uncuffed during the day, and a Bivona TTS at night on the vent. The TTS has a cuff that is Tight To Shaft, the deflated cuff is flush with the trach and therefore easy to change. I only use the vent 12 hours a day.
The TTS does not have an inner cannula, and I rarely suction, so I want a inner cannula during the day for ease of cleaning.
Margaret
My trach has been changed every 12 weeks since I got
the trach in 2/03. I started developing infections after the 6 week mark so I requested more frequent changes. After much arm twisting my doc agreed to change it every 6 weeks. But he warned me that changing the trach more often could bring infections. If this happens he said the changes would go back to every 12 weeks. I just wanted input on this from you all.
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