Just a minor neck laceration?

It is a good surgical axiom that a penetrating injury should not be dealt with simply on the grounds of its appearance. When assessing a patient with a single or multiple lacerations, one must take into account the mode and force of the injury, along with the clinical signs gleaned from an adequate examination. A working knowledge of the underlying anatomy is obviously essential for this. A case is reported of an apparently superficial injury which on closer inspection had potentially fatal consequences.