Are New Airway Devices for Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheostomy Really Needed? To the Editor:

read with great interest the article by Vargas et al1 regarding a double lumen endotracheal tube (DLET) for percutane-ous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT). The authors present their version of a DLET device designed to permit continuous bronchoscopy during PDT while allowing for better gas exchange by removing the bronchoscope from inside the patient’s en-dotracheal tube (ETT). The DLET poten-tially avoids complications such as tracheal tube malpositioning, needle puncture of the bronchoscope, and needle injury to the pos-terior tracheal wall. A few issues come to mind