Global research trends and thematic evolution in fluorescence-guided robot-assisted urologic surgery: a bibliometric...

Fluorescence-guided imaging has increasingly been integrated into robot-assisted urologic surgery to improve intraoperative visualization of vascular anatomy, tissue perfusion, lymphatic drainage, tumor-related landmarks, and reconstructive anatomy. However, the global research landscape, collaborative structure, intellectual foundation, and thematic evolution of fluorescence-guided robot-assisted urologic surgery have not been systematically characterized. In this study, publications related to fluorescence-guided robot-assisted urologic surgery were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection from 1998 to May 16, 2026. After screening, 457 English-language articles and reviews were included. CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and the bibliometrix package in R were used to analyze annual publication trends, countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals, cited journals, co-cited references, keyword co-occurrence, burst terms, trend topics, and thematic evolution. Publication output remained limited before 2011, increased gradually thereafter, and expanded more rapidly after 2018, with peak outputs in 2024 and 2025. The United States, Italy, and the Netherlands were the leading contributors, while Leiden University, Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, and Cleveland Clinic Foundation represented major institutional hubs. Co-cited references and keyword analyses showed that the knowledge base of this field is mainly organized around indocyanine green-guided robotic partial nephrectomy, fluorescence-enhanced radical prostatectomy, sentinel lymph node mapping, and robot-assisted ureteral reconstruction. "Indocyanine green," "robotic surgery," "prostate cancer," "image-guided surgery," "partial nephrectomy," "radical prostatectomy," and "augmented reality" were major conceptual themes. Recent hotspots included near-infrared fluorescence, ureteral stricture, lymph node dissection, positive surgical margins, artificial intelligence, and navigation. Overall, fluorescence-guided robot-assisted urologic surgery is evolving from early feasibility exploration toward procedure-specific clinical application, reconstructive precision, oncologic safety assessment, and digitally integrated surgical navigation. Future studies should emphasize standardized fluorescence protocols, quantitative imaging assessment, prospective multicenter validation, long-term clinical outcomes, and integration with artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and molecular imaging. Because bibliometric indicators reflect research activity and citation relationships rather than direct clinical efficacy or patient benefit, these findings should be interpreted as a map of research development and evidence gaps rather than as evidence supporting the superiority of fluorescence-guided robotic surgery.