Introduction: Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is the most frequently noted terminal feature of abdominal malignancies. Several management strategies have been developed for this condition. The aim of the study is to compare the efficacy of these strategies in prolonging meaningful median out of hospital survival. Methods: In this single-center, retrospective study we reviewed the medical records of all adult patients who received inpatient treatment for PC at Mayo Clinic-Rochester between January 1st 2000 to December, 2013. Patients with histologically confirmed intra-abdominal malignancy or cytological or radiologically confirmed malignant ascites constituted the sample population in this study. Patients were grouped in three groups; those who underwent surgery and stenting (A), stenting alone (B) and those who underwent surgery alone (C). We compared the median survival time and duration of hospitalization for these patients. Success of stenting was defined as absence of re-stenting and/or subsequent surgery. Results: Our study included 82 patients [Group A (23), group B (27), group C (32)] with 34% males and median age of 63 years (IQR 52-73). A total of 50 patients underwent stenting of which 46% of the stents were primary. Success rate of stenting was 88% with 19% patients requiring re-stenting. The duration of hospitalization was least in group B [Mean 4.6 days (2.4-6.8)]. There was a statistically significant difference in duration of hospitalization between groups B and C [Mean Difference 12 (CI 4.7-19.6); p = 0.001] and also between groups A and B [Mean Difference 9 (CI 1.5-16.5); p = 0.014]. There was no significant difference in duration of hospitalization between group A and C. Median survival time was greatest for group A [115.6 ± 21.7 weeks]. However, there was no significant difference between the median survival times for the three groups (p = 0.11). Conclusion: This retrospective study demonstrates that in patients with PC, stenting is associated with a high success rate while offering survival benefits similar to surgery. It also reduces the duration of hospitalization in comparison to surgically managed patients.