Despite what you may have seen in popular network dramas, it's actually rather difficult to perform a tracheotomy with a ballpoint pen. In fact, according to a 2010 study, only two specific brands of pens were able to properly do the job of emergency airway puncture. Visit NCBI ROFL to learn which two. The life you save may be your own.

  • http://www.lightning-rose.com/ LightningRose

    Maggie, I don’t think pens are used for puncturing  the trach, they’re just too dull. I believe pens are used to provide air flow after puncturing the trach with a sharp object.

    • Smart E Pantz

      Ditto, LR–I was taught the same……

      • freshacconci

        That’s what the linked article says. I don’t think Maggie is suggesting that a pen is used to puncture the skin.

        • http://www.lightning-rose.com/ LightningRose

          “…only two specific brands of pens were able to properly do the job of emergency airway puncture.”

          Maggie’s a pretty good science writer, so that may not be what she meant.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Dagger Dilator – don’t leave home without it.  Having worked on an ENT floor, I know people who have done emergency traches on the street.  You need something sharp to make the cut, but you can use a pen as a cannula.

  • freshacconci

    So you’re telling me that M*A*S*H gave me wrong information? Of course, Radar couldn’t find a pen so Father Mulcahy had to use an eye-dropper.