A potential intraoperative disaster averted: Preduodenal portal vein compressing a preduodenal common bile duct

Familiarity with the anatomy is paramount for conduct of safe surgery for a surgeon. Anomalies with the biliary and hepatic arterial system are common but portal vein anomalies are least common. A preduodenal portal vein has been reported in about 100 cases but a combination of preduodenal portal vein with preduodenal common bile duct is extremely rare with only 9 cases being reported. We report a one such case and discuss the embryological basis for the peculiar anatomy observed in our case which has never been reported earlier. We also reviewed the reported cases in literature. (Ann Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg 2021;25:145-149)