The duodenum is the second most common location of intestinal diverticula. Periampullary duodenal diverticulum rarely causes obstructive jaundice and this condition was first described by German surgeon Gerhard Lemmel in 1934. Lemmel's syndrome is defined as obstructive jaundice due to a periampullary duodenal diverticulum in the absence of choledocholithiasis or a neoplasm.