Tracheal surgery: present and future

Airway and tracheal surgery represent one of the main branches of general thoracic surgery. However, it is a relatively new field, as surgical procedures on this district have only been undertaken in the last 70 years, but in the meantime, it has undergone a rapid evolution. Indeed, in the early 1960s, it was thought that no more 2 cm of trachea could be removed. By the end of the decade, the better knowledge of airway anatomy and blood supply, tension-releasing maneuvers, particularly with the fundamental contributions of pioneers like Dr. Grillo and Dr. Montgomery, and the improved anesthetic techniques challenged this limit and now about half of the trachea may be resected with limited morbidity and mortality.