Objective To compare the advantages and disadvantages of the PercuTwist technique．Methods Clinical data of patients undergoing PercuTwist and traditional tracheostomy during Jan 2007 to Feb 2008 in the department of pulmonary disease of Changhai Hospital were collected and analyzed．Results Of 16 patients with PercuTwist，12 were males and 4 were females．The minimum platelet before operation was 15 X 109／L The mean operating time f from local anesthesia to connecting ventilator)was(4.3±1.0)min，and complications occurred in 2 cases with 2 incidences．Of the 12 patients with traditional tracheostomy，8 were males and 4 were females．The minimum platelet before operation was 85 X 109／L．The mean operating time was(33.3±8.6)min，and complications occurred in 8 cases with11 incidences．There were significant differences in complications and operating time between the patients with PercuTwist and the patients with traditional tracheostomy(P lt;0.001 or 0.01)．Conclusions Compared with the traditional surgical tracheostomy，the PercuTwist technique takes less operating time and causes fewer complications．