Microvascular Decompression: A Bibliometric Analysis of the 100 Most Cited Articles

Bibliometric analyses assess the impact and influence of articles in the academic community. There is no previous work that has used bibliometric analysis of microvascular decompression (MVD). This study aims to identify and characterize the 100 most cited articles on MVD.

Highly cited articles were identified assessing the Scopus library by using the keywords "microvascular decompression," "MVD," "nerve decompression," "nerve root decompression," and "microvascular surgery." Data were further processed by sampling techniques with defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The number of citations, country of origin, institutions of origin, year of publication, type of cranial nerve disorder, type of article, and the publishing journal were analyzed. Further, article categories and the type of studies were investigated.

The 100 most cited articles on MVD ranged from 951 to 76 total citations, and from 38.04 to 1.88 citations per year. Publication dates spanned a period from 1959 to 2015. The most frequently studied cranial nerve disorder was trigeminal neuralgia (n = 54). Articles were published in 29 journals, with Neurosurgery (n = 33) topping the list. The articles came from 14 different countries, with most contributions from the United States (n = 55). Authors of the highly cited articles who received most citations were Peter J. Jannetta (n = 26), followed by Aage Møller (n = 13), and Marc Sindou (n = 11).

This work provides a detailed evaluation of the 100 most cited articles on MVD, thus allowing recognition and selected reading of the most influential academic contributions related to this surgical technique in a variety of cranial nerve disorders.