Introduction. Emergency resection represents the traditional treatment for left-sided malignant obstruction. However, the\nplacement of self-expanding metallic stents and delayed surgery has been proposed as an alternative approach. The aim of the\ncurrentmeta-analysis was to review the available evidence, with particular interest for the short-termoutcomes, including a recent\nmulticentre RCT. Methods.We considered randomized controlled trials comparing stenting as a bridge to surgery and emergency\nsurgery for the management of left-sided malignant large bowel obstruction, performing a systematic reviewinMEDLINE, PubMed\ndatabase, and the Cochrane libraries. Results.We initially identified a total of 2543 studies. After the elimination of duplicates and\nthe screening of titles and abstracts, seven studies, for a total of 448 patients, were considered.The current meta-analysis revealed\nno difference in the mortality rate between the stent group and the emergency surgery group; the postoperative complication\nrate (37.84% versus 54.87%,
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