Rotational tomography of the normal and reconstructed middle ear in temporal bones: an experimental study.

Imaging is an essential diagnostic tool in reconstructive middle ear surgery, especially in pre-operative planning. Due to ongoing improvement of imaging quality and development of new imaging techniques like e.g.

[The valence of dilatational tracheotomy].

After standardizing surgical procedures around 1900 Shelden, Toye, Weinstein and Ciaglia developed the percutaneous dilational tracheotomy (PDT). At present it is recognized that about 50 % of the anesthesiological Intensive care Units (ICU) in Germany are using the PDT while favoring the Ciaglia-technique in the majority of cases. Further techniques are known as Griggs-, Fantoni-, Percu-Twist- and Blue-Rhino-method.