Airway obstruction by foreign bodies (FBs) in preterm neonates is a rare occurrence.

Most of these FBs are iatrogenic and related to medical devices used in the neonate.

We describe a case of an endotracheal FB resulting from the cut end of an in-line closed suction catheter.

The FB caused collapse/consolidation of different lung lobes with changes in its position.

It was missed for a long period of about 3 weeks and was removed by applying direct suction through an endotracheal tube.

Different innovative devices have been used to retrieve endotracheal FBs in small preterm neonates; however, this method is not reported in literature to our knowledge.