Parts of a Tracheostomy Tube

All 9 parts on the diagram

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The tube 6

Neck plate The flat plate that rests on the neck's front. It has a slot at each end. It is also called the flange.
Tracheostomy ties Go around the neck to hold the tube in place. They pass through the slots in the neck plate. They are also called trach ties.
Outer cannula The outer cannula is the main tube. It stays in place and keeps the airway open.
Fenestration A fenestration is an opening in the curve of the outer cannula. It lets air pass up through the voice box. Only some tubes have one.
Cuff The cuff is a balloon round the tube near its lower end. Inflated, it seals the space between the tube and the wall of the windpipe.
Pilot balloon Shows whether the cuff is inflated. It stays outside the body, joined to the cuff by a thin line.

Pieces that fit inside 3

Inner cannula Fits inside the outer cannula. It can be taken out while the outer one stays in place.
15 mm connector The round end that breathing equipment pushes onto. Its size is a standard one.
Obturator Fills the outer cannula so that its end is smooth and rounded. Used while the tube is put in, then taken out.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. (1) International standard ISO 5366-1:2000, Tracheostomy tubes, part 1, read in its Indian adoption, https://archive.org/details/gov.in.is.iso.5366.1.2000, with IS 12505-2:1988, https://archive.org/details/gov.in.is.12505.2.1988, counted together as one source (outer tube, inner tube, neck-plate, cuff, inflating tube, pilot balloon that indicates inflation of the cuff, introducer or obturator, the 15 mm connector). (2) Saskatoon Health Region, nursing learning package on artificial airways in adults, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6030480 (outer cannula, inner cannula and its adapter for breathing equipment, obturator, cuff, pilot balloon, neck plate, fenestrated tubes; its figure legend reads 15 mm connector of inner cannula through a poor scan). (3) A home health agency's written procedures, Meridian at Home, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5948820 (tracheostomy ties, flanges, inner cannula, outer cannula, obturator, the cuff's pilot balloon). (4) Wikipedia, Tracheotomy, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracheotomy (outer cannula or main shaft, inner cannula, obturator, cuffed tubes, fenestrated tubes). (5) MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, Tracheostomy care, https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000076.htm (trach ties). (6) US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 868.5800, Tracheostomy tube and tube cuff, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-868.5800 (the cuff and its seal against the tracheal wall). The sources were read for names only. Agencies and publishers are named here only; the page names none. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; own work, no maker's model copied. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a tracheostomy tube, the curved tube that sits in an opening in the front of the neck. First the tube as it comes, then the pieces that fit inside. Names only.

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Outside, then inside

The neck plate lies across the top, with the tracheostomy ties through its ends. The outer cannula curves down from it. Near its lower end is the cuff, joined by a thin line to the pilot balloon. Some tubes have a fenestration in the curve. Two pieces slide inside the outer cannula: the inner cannula, which ends in the 15 mm connector, and the obturator, which has a rounded end.

Flange and neck plate are two names for the same part.
A tube can be cuffed or uncuffed, and fenestrated or not; this drawing shows a cuff and one fenestration so both can be named.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a tracheostomy tube?

The outer cannula, the inner cannula and the obturator are the three main pieces. The outer cannula carries the neck plate and, on a cuffed tube, the cuff and its pilot balloon. Ties through the neck plate hold the tube in place.

What is the difference between the inner cannula and the outer cannula?

The outer cannula is the main tube, which stays in place. The inner cannula is a thinner tube that fits inside it and can be taken out.

What is the obturator of a tracheostomy tube?

A curved rod with a smooth rounded end. It fills the outer cannula while the tube is put in and is then taken out.

What is the pilot balloon on a tracheostomy tube?

A small balloon that stays outside the body, joined to the cuff by a thin line. It shows whether the cuff is inflated.