Decoding a whistled cry: a challenging subglottic foreign body in a child

Subglottic foreign body removal is one of the challenging tasks for anaesthesiologists as it may cause partial or complete airway obstruction which is a life-threatening condition. We have discussed here a four-year-old child who presented with whistling sounds during breathing to the emergency department. The clinical signs, symptoms, diagnosis and management of a subglottic foreign body are discussed with its subsequent removal requiring tracheostomy following failure with rigid bronchoscopy.