Publication rates of abstracts presented at limb lengthening and reconstruction society annual meetings

Introduction: Annual scientific meetings are intended in part to provide initial dissemination of research findings directly to meeting participants. However, the eventual publication of research findings is important for dissemination to the broader medical and scientific communities. The Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society: ASAMI-North America (LLRS) annual meetings showcase important research and case studies in the field of limb reconstruction pertinent to an international community of surgeons. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the publication rates of abstracts from recent LLRS annual meetings. Materials and Methods: Annual meeting programs from six LLRS annual meetings from 2014 to 2021 were cataloged. Listed abstract titles and authors were then queried in PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Journal of Limb Lengthen and Reconstruction to determine if a corresponding work was published journal up to December 2022 and time to publication. Results: During all studied annual meetings, 249 abstracts were presented. By December 2022, 60% (161/269) were published. The longest time to publication was 6 years following the presented annual meeting, whereas the meantime to publication was 21 months. The top publishing journals were the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, the Journal of Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction, and Strategies in Trauma and Limb Reconstruction. Discussion: The LLRS annual meeting abstracts lead to a corresponding publication at rates revealing other orthopedic subspecialty societies. However, there are opportunities to improve these rates by continuing to promote the LLRS partnering journals including the Journal of Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction.