Frontiers and hotspots evolution in robot-assisted thyroidectomy: a bibliometric analysis from 2008 to 2023

With the continuous development of robotic-assisted surgery and the increasing experience in thyroid surgery, robotic-assisted thyroidectomy has become one of the common methods for treating thyroid tumors. Its advantages lie in the unique three-dimensional (3D) vision and the technology based on precise simulation, which help surgeons eliminate hand tremors, making the operation more precise and flexible. This approach enhances the thoroughness of thyroid surgery and has high prospects in the field of thyroid surgery. In the present research, bibliometric analysis was applied to examine and condense scientific publications from nearly 15 years, with the goal of fostering better understanding.

Included in this analysis were 666 publications from 2008 to 2023, retrieved systematically from the Web of Science (WoS) database. General characteristics were summarized, developmental structures and research frontiers were examined, and CiteSpace was applied for result evaluation and visualization.

The results contained 666 publications, and the total number of citations for these works was 12,500. For the volume of published literatures, the top 5 countries/regions were South Korea, USA, China, Italy, and Germany. When considering literature centrality, the top 5 countries/regions were Thailand, Italy, Belgium, England, and Scotland. Ten institutions each produced over 20 publications. All top 10 institutions had a centrality score of 0.19 or above, a result that points to relatively intensive research in this domain and ample collaboration between institutions. Researchers from South Korea were the most prominent among authors with high publication and citation rates. Journals like Surgical Endoscopy and Other Interventional Techniques, World Journal of Surgery, Head & Neck: Journal for the Sciences and Specialties of the Head and Neck, and Thyroid had more significant influence in this field. Keyword analysis revealed that the main research focuses are thyroid cancer, endoscopic thyroidectomy, and the surgical method for robot-assisted thyroidectomy.

A comprehensive assessment of global research productivity, collaboration patterns, and research hotspots related to robot-assisted thyroidectomy is presented in this bibliometric study, which serves to direct future research efforts toward endoscopic thyroidectomy.