Percutaneous vs. endoscopic pre-operative biliary drainage in hilar cholangiocarcinoma - a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The strategy for preoperative management of biliary obstruction in hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA) patients with regards to drainage by endoscopic (EBD) or percutaneous (PTBD) methods is not clearly defined. The aim of this study was to investigate the utility, complications and therapeutic efficacy of these methods in HCCA patients, with a secondary aim to assess the use of portal vein embolization (PVE) in patients undergoing drainage.

Methods: Studies incorporating HCCA patients undergoing biliary drainage prior to curative resection were included (EMBASE and Medline databases).

Anatomic Variations of the Floor of the Third Ventricle: An Endoscopic Study.

Objective: Anatomical variations of the floor of the third ventricle are common in hydrocephalic patients and can significantly affect outcomes of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV). We sought to categorize variations in third ventricle anatomy and to discuss the implications of these variations for ETV.

Methods: Intraoperative videos and pictures of 50 patients who underwent ETV between April 2001 and August 2010 were reviewed.