Robotic-assisted surgery in vascular surgery: a 29-year bibliometric analysis and emerging research trends

In many medical specialties, robot-assisted surgery has become a crucial option for surgical interventions. However, its adoption in vascular surgery remains limited, with this discipline lagging behind other fields in both research and application of this technology. The rapid advancement of robot-assisted surgery presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the development of vascular surgery. Bibliometrics can systematically and quantitatively summarize research achievements, key research directions, and emerging trends in this field, thereby guiding future research efforts on the application of robot-assisted surgery in vascular surgery. All eligible literature in this research was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, covering publications released from 1997 to 2025 that focus on the clinical applications of robot-assisted surgery within vascular surgery. Two bibliometric software programs, VOSviewer 1.6.20 and CiteSpace 6.4.R2, were adopted to implement multiple analytical procedures, including author collaboration analysis, literature co-citation analysis and keyword co-occurrence analysis. Meanwhile, the citation burst detection function embedded in CiteSpace was applied to pinpoint prevailing research hotspots and emerging frontiers in this discipline. This study included 375 eligible publications from 1,777 researchers across 503 institutions in 39 countries. Annual publication output showed a steady increase, with two notable peaks in 2022 and 2025 after a marked rise post-2020. The United States led globally with 130 papers (34.6%) and 3,687 citations, followed by China, Japan, Italy, and the UK. The Beijing Institute of Technology was the most prolific institution. Key scholars including Shuxiang Guo, Norihiko Ishikawa, and Go Watanabe shaped the field's foundation, while the International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery and The Annals of Thoracic Surgery were the primary publishing venues. Keyword clustering identified five major research themes: robotic surgery, angioplasty, force sensing, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and percutaneous coronary intervention. Temporal keyword analysis revealed a clear shift from traditional open cardiovascular procedures (e.g., coronary artery bypass grafting, laparoscopic aortic bypass) toward robotic-assisted endovascular and extravascular interventions, such as percutaneous coronary intervention and integrated robotic revascularization. Over the past twenty-nine years, China's research institutions and scholars have achieved certain accomplishments in the application research of robot-assisted surgical techniques in the field of vascular surgery. Vascular surgery has evolved from traditional open cardiovascular procedures to novel robot-assisted surgical methods suitable for both intravascular and extravascular operations.