 The patient apparently made a complete recovery and Brassavola published his account in 1546.This operation has been identified as the first recorded successful tracheostomy, despite many ancient references to the trachea and possibly to its opening.Towards the end of the 16th century, anatomist and surgeon Hieronymus Fabricius (1533–1619) described a useful technique for tracheotomy in his writings, although he had never actually performed the operation himself.