A Kansas wheat harvest: near-fatal asphyxiation with wheat grains.

We present a patient who had a near-fatal asphyxiation with wheat particles. A previously healthy 11-year-old boy slipped into wheat being unloaded from a transport wagon and was immediately submersed. On arrival at the hospital, he was found to have grain impacted in both mainstem bronchi. A combination of flexible and rigid bronchoscopy with optical forceps and Fogarty balloon catheters was successful in clearing the airways. The removal of the particles through the use of small bronchoscopic instruments is a tedious and delicate procedure, but in this case, it resulted in a life saved.