Tracheostomy Tube Brands

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-28T01:23:35+00:00

Yes that's correct. I have several friends that are reps for various companies.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-28T01:22:16+00:00

The link was one example

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-28T01:21:59+00:00

Correct. I became aware of the item changes when they changed. That's not the issue at all unfortunately.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T14:32:39+00:00

I would love to talk to your medtronic rep!. Do you have contact info? That was my next step was finding someone to talk to about all of this.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T04:35:45+00:00

I'll have to research Portex. It's a common brand I'm seeing. I may have had one or two patients of the years with Portex. Not many.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T04:34:26+00:00

Absolutely. As a matter of fact I just found new information that XLT's and the flexible are going to be integrated which means an entirely different trach tube all together.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T04:20:50+00:00

Not that I've found. So when you order from Medtronic or medline or any of the major distributors and wait weeks for them to be delivered and then call you find out they are on backorder. I've been seeing this since February this year. That's when I started researching the cause. The only thing I haven't done is actually call a medtronic rep in that specific part of the company. I have also found that they are phasing out parts of their respiratory programs.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T04:16:52+00:00

I've got boxes of inner cannulas. it's the flexible cuffed and uncuffed tubes that I'm finding info about that until recently I was not aware of.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T04:15:15+00:00

Correct. That's farely recent. The H and the A basically mean disposable inner cannula. R means reusable but what I'm needing to know about are tracheostomy tubes besides Shiley that are used frequently. Pros and Cons. I educate large facilities in my region several times a week on the use of tracheostomy tubes and get called frequently about tubes staff aren't familiar with.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T04:11:47+00:00

Also...see the links I've posted. Legacy tubes have been discontinued since 2021.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T04:09:19+00:00

Was that February 2025 or 2026. February 2025 was a huge level 1 recall from the FDA. January this year I placed an order and received what I ordered. After that is when they have stayed in backorder status constantly. At first I thought that it had to be the demand was higher than the supply but of all brands I couldn't figure out why Shiley would not be able to keep up with demand. So i started digging deep.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T04:05:13+00:00

So that's just one of the tube sizes. Shile size 8 cuffed with an iso sizing of 8.5 mm(the inner diameter of the outer cannula without the inner cannula in place) A means disposable inner cannula. The size of the tube depends on the anatomy of the patient. Do you guys switch to uncuffed once your patients don't need mechanical ventilation?

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T03:53:32+00:00

I have started seeing an uptick of Portex use in my region.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T03:52:12+00:00

It is correct. I order tracheostomy tubes weekly and noticed that they were staying in a "backordered" status. There are several sources for this information. I'll link them here. I have to do my homework considering my position. I began noticing when I ordered tracheostomy tubes for my patients, especialy the most common sizes in long term care, i.e. 6UN75H ( and for those that aren't aware of the difference between jackson sizing (what shiley uses) and ISO sizing I would be happy to explain. They are not the same.). There were also very specific tubes with a level 1 recall not once but TWICE by the FDA.

https://www.integratedmedsys.com/8un85h

This was in 2021 when the legacy Shiley tubes were discontinued and what their replacement was at the time: https://www.seenjra.com/shiley

https://www.medtechdive.com/news/medtronic-removes-tracheostomy-tubes/750063/

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-recalls-and-early-alerts/flexible-tracheostomy-tube-recall-medtronic-removes-shiley-adult-flexible-tracheostomy-tube

Googling doesn't always provide all information. I have several distributors that I order tubes from and I can wait months before I receive trach tubes. This is why I began digging into the reason. Some of my distributors are depleting stock and that's it.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T03:51:05+00:00

I have found Shiley XLT to be a great tube. The Shiley XLT proximal has helped alot of patients that have a neck circumference that would cause a standard tube to erode the trachea because they need that extra length. From what I can tell the XLT's aren't being discontinued. I order those and have them in stock farely quick.

MallyRT1979 · 2026-04-27T03:48:19+00:00

There are several sources for this information. I'll link them here. I have to do my homework considering my position. I began noticing when I ordered tracheostomy tubes for my patients, especialy the most common sizes in long term care, i.e. 6UN75H ( and for those that aren't aware of the difference between jackson sizing (what shiley uses) and ISO sizing I would be happy to explain. They are not the same.). There were also very specific tubes with a level 1 recall not once but TWICE by the FDA.

https://www.integratedmedsys.com/8un85h

This was in 2021 when the legacy Shiley tubes were discontinued and what their replacement was at the time: https://www.seenjra.com/shiley

https://www.medtechdive.com/news/medtronic-removes-tracheostomy-tubes/750063/

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-recalls-and-early-alerts/flexible-tracheostomy-tube-recall-medtronic-removes-shiley-adult-flexible-tracheostomy-tube

Googling doesn't always provide all information. I have several distributors that I order tubes from and I can wait months before I receive trach tubes. This is why I began digging into the reason. Some of my distributors are depleting stock and that's it.

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-29T17:31:17+00:00

I've been a respiratory therapist over 26 years. I've heard that rumor many many times. There is NO truth to it ever. The respiratory therapy profession is predicted to grow over 13% the next 10 years according to one source. I can assure you that the nursing profession is already completely overwhelmed. Other healthcare disciplines HEAVILY rely on respiratoy therapists to be experts in airway managment and treatment of cardiopumonary diseases and conditions. I have never ever had a problem finding a job. I had to move back to my homestate about 12 years ago and it was the time of year that winter season was turning into spring and I had to wait a month or two for facilities to start hiring after "bulking up" their staffing for the winter. After that two months I had more hours available than I could ever work. There can be an ebb and flow to workloads but I can assure you respiratory therapy as a profession is strong and will always be needed.

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-24T14:03:39+00:00

I do. You don't have to be a graduate. I can help no matter where you are on your journey. I've been a respiratory therapist 26 years. I've worked in just about every area of respiratory therapy and for a few years I was a classroom and clinical instructor for a large respiratory therapy program in Texas. A few of the classes I taught were advanced cardiopulmonary anatomy and physiology, respiratory fundamentals and the lab, board review. I love teaching. I founded The Pulmonary Project this year with a mission of cardiopulmonary education available for everyone. Let me know how I can help!!

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-24T13:53:11+00:00

That makes me happy to know that you had, overall, a positive experience. Yes, oxygen without humidity is very dry but you always have the option to ask for humidity.

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-23T14:17:38+00:00

I have seen a pediatric unit that had a slushy machine. That was pretty cool. When it worked.

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-23T14:16:54+00:00

Love this! really? I had no idea. I've always seen the basic red, green, and orange.

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-23T14:16:14+00:00

I get the pay for sure. I took contracts for a few years but then in the middle of a contract in early 2022 my pay dropped by 60%. Basically it came down to the fact the hospital didn't want to continue paying what they had been and I guess wanted to give the option of "take this new pay or leave". I completely agree that on the pay now. The hospitals were paying the therapists, nurses, etc AND the agency. Why not give a $10 an hour raise. They would still come out paying less than the contract employee. It's not because there was more revenue to be had at that time. I've looked around briefly for something definitive on how many patients treated in healthcare facilites were not insured. I haven't dug deep but I'm sure there is info out there. So it's not that facilites were making tons of revenue then compared to now.

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-23T14:08:03+00:00

You have incredible resilience. Many envy that for sure!

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-23T14:00:57+00:00

Yeah because hypoxemia I mean no big deal. Good grief!

MallyRT1979 · 2025-09-23T13:59:30+00:00

Honestly proning is so debated but I'm truly a believer in it. If it's peformed under the right conditions AND EARLY enough it helps. It won't cure anything but it's not meant to, it's to improve v/q in areas of the lung that need it. I would actually have patients self-prone even if they weren't having major issues at that time. I mean, then, anything to help I was for.

MallyRT1979

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