Bedside trach placement

Okay, the coolest thing I've seen at this conference which is standard at many hospitals is percutaneous bedside tracheostomy placement under direct bronchoscopic visualization. Saves money (the kit is slightly cheaper than OR trachs PLUS the patient isn't taking up an OR), saves transport-related complications (lines pulling out, etc), saves time (since the procedure is taking place at the bedside and takes no more than 2 minutes by a trained provider). While looking via the scope, a finder needle is inserted into the trachea from the anterior neck (between the 1st and 2nd tracheal rings), a wire passed through, skin incision made, serial dilation over the wire (with blue rhino), and then placement of the trach. Outcomes are identical to OR-placed trachs, and after a training period, this would no longer require precious ENT time.