Laparotomy vs minimally invasive laparoscopic ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement for hydrocephalus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) surgery is the most commonly used method for the treatment of hydrocephalus. Traditionally, distal catheters in the VPS surgery have been placed either through a standard small open laparotomy or via a laparoscopic technique. Although there are many studies demonstrating the benefits of a minimally invasive approach, limited research has directly compared the two techniques used in VPS surgery.

Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients: a systematic review.

Purpose: The primary aim of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Differentiation based off catheter ablation modalities was not considered due to the limited scope of the current field. Studies that employed alcohol septal ablation for the treatment of AF in HCM patients were excluded as were abstracts, case reports, conference presentations, editorials, reviews, and expert opinions

Methods: Electronic searches were performed in six databases from their inception until January 2014.