cystic lesions of the right hypochondrium can be a diagnostic surprise even with advanced imaging techniques . we present a rare case of a non parasitic non choledochal cyst of the hepatoduodenal ligament treated laparoscopically . a 65 year old male presented with pain and lump in the right hypochondrium since 3 years which was not associated with jaundice or fever . clinical examination revealed a smooth cystic lump in the right hypochondrium which moved with respiration and was continuous with the liver dullness . contrast enhanced computed tomography ( cect ) reported a 10.52 cm  9.9 cm  6 cm unilocular cyst arising from the segment v of the liver . contrast enhanced computed tomography ( cect ) showing a large hypodense lesion measuring 10.52 cm  9.9 cm  6 cm in the subhepatic region and arising from the segment v of the liver . laparoscopy revealed a large cystic lesion occupying the right subhepatic space with the common bile duct ( cbd ) plastered over it . [ figure 2 ] on careful aspiration of one liter of dark hemorrhagic fluid from the cyst , it was seen to be arising from the hepatoduodenal ligament between the cbd and the portal vein . the thickwalled cyst was carefully dissected from the surrounding structures [ figures 3 and 4 ] . a small strip of the wall was left behind to avoid injury to the cbd and portal vein and the cyst was delivered through a small subcostal incision . intraoperative picture during laparoscopy showing a large cystic lesion ( thin arrow ) in the right subhepatic space and the common bile duct ( thick arrow ) anterior to it . cystic lesions in the right hypochondrium may arise from the liver , gall bladder or pancreas and rarely from other organs like the diaphragm . investigative modalities like a cect or magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) often reveal the organ of origin . operative surprises are however likely specially when a large cyst arises from the hepatoduodenal ligament and occupies the right hypochondrium . cystic lesions of the hepatoduodenal ligament are rare and those that have been reported in literature include epidermoid cyst , dermoid cyst , tubercular abscess and hydatid cyst . we decided on a laparoscopic approach with a presumption of liver cyst in mind . to our surprise however , the cyst was found originating from the hepatoduodenal ligament . with patient and careful dissection , the cyst could be dissected successfully and excised . we propose that laparoscopic dissection of hepatoduodenal ligament cyst is possible and should be attempted to give the patient benefits of laparoscopic intervention . cysts arising in the hepatoduodental ligament are rare and can be diagnostic surprise even with advanced imaging techniques . while reported cases have been tackled by open technique , we propose that such rare cysts arising from the hepatoduodenal ligament can successfully be operated laparoscopically .
hepatoduodenal ligament cysts are rare . 
 these may be confused with hepatic cysts even on advanced investigative modalities like computerized tomography scanning or magnetic resonance imaging . 
 diagnosis is often an intraoperative surprise . 
 laparoscopic treatment of such hepatoduodenal cysts is not described in available medical literature . 
 we report one such case treated laparoscopically