Postoperative pain is an unavoidable consequence of open abdominal surgery. Although cryotherapy, the application of ice to a surgical wound site, has been shown to be effective in reducing postoperative pain in orthopedic, gynecologic, and hernia operations, it has not been assessed in patients who undergo major open abdominal operations. We hypothesized that patients who receive cryotherapy would report lower pain scores as a primary outcome measure. This would result in less narcotic analgesia usage, and shorter hospital stays as secondary outcome measures.