An important advantage of open laparoscopy over closed techniques is the avoidance of placing a sharp trocar blindly into the peritoneal cavity. Although an open technique theoretically minimizes the risk of major retroperitoneal vessel injury and bowel injury, most laparoscopies are performed using a closed technique. In an effort to simplify open laparoscopy, a technique was developed that can be done without special equipment or sutures and nearly as quickly as a closed technique. To compare the effectiveness of this open laparoscopic technique to a closed technique, a prospective, observational, cohort study was carried out on 66 women undergoing laparoscopy for either infertility or pelvic pain. The open technique was performed on 35 consecutive patients and compared to a closed technique performed on 31 patients on a different service during the same period. Evaluation included total duration of the procedure, length of the incision, incidence of CO2 leakage and complications. The open technique took slightly longer, and the incision was slightly longer. CO2 leakage occurred in 5 of 35 of the open cases but in none of the 31 closed cases. Leakage was controlled effectively in every case by application of a towel clip to the skin incision. No complications occurred with either technique. This study suggested that an open technique that requires no special equipment or sutures may be a useful alternative approach for laparoscopy when insertion of a sharp trocar is undesirable.