The leading cause of SBO in industrialized countries is postoperative adhesions (60%), followed by malignancy, Crohn's disease, and hernias. The most common cause of small-bowel obstruction (SBO) is postsurgical adhesions. Postoperative adhesions can be the cause of acute obstruction within 4 weeks of surgery or of chronic obstruction decades later. Prevention of SBO may be essentially limited to decreasing the risk of adhesion formation by decreasing the number of intra-abdominal procedures (ie, laparotomies) and resultant scar formation.