Acronyms Use in Abdominal Wall Reconstruction: Introduction to a New Language

Area of Science:

• Medical communication
• Surgical terminology
• Digital health platforms

Background:

• Acronyms are widely used in medicine to simplify communication.
• Social media platforms may increase acronym usage, but excessive or unfamiliar acronyms can cause confusion.
• The rapidly evolving field of abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) has led to a proliferation of new acronyms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the use of acronyms within a dedicated online community for abdominal wall reconstruction.
• To classify and interpret AWR-related acronyms.
• To create a publicly accessible reference for these acronyms.

Main Methods:

• Acronyms were extracted from posts within the International Hernia Collaboration Facebook group (2012-present).
• Acronyms were categorized by subject matter (anatomy, diseases, techniques/materials).
• A dictionary of AWR acronyms was compiled into several tables.

Main Results:

• Commonly used acronyms and prefixes within the AWR field were identified.
• Acronyms were classified into distinct subject-based tables.
• A comprehensive reference of AWR acronyms was developed.

Conclusions:

• The use of acronyms in social media communication has increased, potentially hindering clarity.
• A public reference for AWR acronyms has been created to aid understanding.
• Limiting the creation of new acronyms is advised, particularly in dynamic fields like AWR.