Robot-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy: a bibliometric analysis of trends, key contributors, and collaborations

Robot-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy (RPD) is a technically complex and resource-intensive procedure, for which bibliometric analysis provides an ideal framework to evaluate the evolution and impact of scholarly work. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 222 publications from 2010 to 2025. The literature demonstrates a strong growth trend, with an annual growth rate of 29.08%, an average document age of 3.25 years, and a mean of 16.63 citations per document. Analysis of annual trends identified modest output from 2010 to 2015 (1-6 documents/year) with mean total citations per article from 4.00 to 101.75, indicative of early-stage development. A period of steady growth occurred from 2016 to 2021 (3-25 documents/year) with rising citations, followed by rapid expansion from 2022 to 2025, peaking at 46 documents in 2025. The mean total citations per article and mean total citations per year in this most recent period declined (13.64 to 0.91 and 3.41 to 0.91, respectively), consistent with the recency of these publications. Key contributors include Boggi U. as the most prolific author (26 publications), followed by Hogg M.E (24), Besselink M.G (21), Kauffmann E.F (20), and Zureikat A.H (20). The United States was the leading contributing country (n = 72), followed by Italy (60), China (35), The Netherlands (32), and Japan (31), reflecting a concentration of research in high-income nations. The leading funding sponsors were Intuitive Surgical and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (n = 8 each), and the predominant publication venues were Surgical Endoscopy (32) and Annals of Surgical Oncology (23). Co-authorship networks for authors, institutions, and countries were mapped, revealing collaborative patterns and key partnerships. N-gram analysis (uni-, bi-, and tri-grams) was performed using R Studio, and keyword clustering was conducted using VOSviewer, alongside an analysis of the temporal dynamics of the top 100 recurring terms. An examination of the most cited publications revealed dominant research themes: comparative outcomes of robotic, laparoscopic, and open approaches using propensity score-matching and short-term outcomes; learning curves and technical proficiency; procedure-specific adaptations like vascular resections and ERAS pathways; and evidence synthesis via systematic reviews and meta-analyses. In conclusion, this bibliometric and co-word analysis delineates the rapid expansion, key actors, and evolving thematic focus of RPD research, highlighting its increasing methodological rigor and a growing emphasis on technical refinement and evidence-based practice.