Trousseau Tracheal dilator
In 1833 Armand Trousseau designed this instrument to dilate the incision into the airway to allow easy passage of tracheostomy tube. This instrument is held in the palm of the hand and the curved tip is inserted into the soft tissues in the neck. The dilator can be dilated by bringing both limbs together using the palm of the hand. It is actually not a dilator it is a retractor used to retract soft tissues of the neck to expose the trachea during tracheostomy tube insertion.