Editorial: endoscopic stent placement as a bridge to surgery in malignant colorectal obstruction: a balance between study validity and real-world applicability.

The premise of self-expandable metal stent placement to restore luminal continuity in patients with acute left-sided malignant colonic obstruction is intuitively logical. However, the available body of literature addressing their benefit in this setting is contradictory. We sought to briefly critique the available literature and put the findings of Jiménez-Pérez et al. published in this current issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology in perspective.