Leveling Up Surgical Skills: A Bibliometric Evaluation of Video Games in Surgical Training Research

To map publication trends and research themes on video games in surgical training through bibliometric techniques. Retrospective, descriptive bibliometric analysis of records indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection. Metrics included yearly publication counts, citation impact, leading authors and institutions, journal outlets, country of origin, study design, and keyword co-occurrence. A comprehensive search retrieved 464 records. After relevance screening, the fifty most-cited works (articles, conference papers, reviews) were analyzed. Annual output rose sharply after 2011, with peaks in 2016 and 2020-2021; 30 of the 50 high-impact papers were published within the past decade. Citation counts were highly skewed: the landmark study by Rosser (2007) amassed 423 citations, one quarter of the total. James C. Rosser Jr. and Maarten B. Jalink were the most prolific authors, while Beth Israel Medical Center and the University of Groningen led institutional contributions. Journal of Surgical Education and Surgical Endoscopy each published 5 of the core papers. Authors based in the United States produced 30% of studies, followed by the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Observational designs predominated (70%), with experimental work (15%) and reviews (12%) forming smaller but growing segments. Keyword mapping revealed 4 principal clusters: laparoscopic skills acquisition, simulation-based education, preoperative warm-up exercises, and robotic surgery training. Research on video game-mediated surgical education is expanding, international, and increasingly diversified in methodology and focus, yet remains dominated by a small group of authors and institutions.