Awake tracheostomy in a patient with acute upper airway obstruction: an emergency application of an elective percutaneous procedure.

Since its introduction in 1985 with Ciaglia, percutaneous tracheostomy (PT) was contraindicated in emergency settings and obesity. However, several case series in the last 20 years have documented the use of PT in life-threatening airway emergencies. We present a case of severe acute airway obstruction in a 66-year-old woman successfully treated with a placement of an awake PT.