Robot-assisted surgery for male reproductive diseases: global research trends, collaboration networks, and thematic...

Robot-assisted surgery has been introduced into several male reproductive diseases, including male infertility-related reconstructive or microsurgical procedures, testicular cancer-related retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, and penile cancer-related inguinal lymph node surgery. However, unlike robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, these non-prostate male reproductive applications remain scattered across small clinical series, technical reports, and procedure-specific reviews. This study mapped the global research landscape and thematic evolution of robot-assisted surgery for male reproductive diseases excluding prostate disease. Publications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection using a disease- and procedure-bound search strategy focused on robot-assisted microsurgery, vasovasostomy, vasoepididymostomy, varicocelectomy, sperm retrieval, azoospermia, testicular cancer/RPLND, and penile cancer/inguinal lymphadenectomy. The search was conducted on June 12, 2026. Articles and reviews in English were retained. Bibliometrix and CiteSpace were used to analyze publication trends, countries, institutions, authors, sources, cited references, keyword co-occurrence, clusters, bursts, and thematic changes. A total of 228 records were initially retrieved. After excluding 67 records outside the retained document types and 8 non-English records, 153 publications were included, comprising 110 articles and 43 reviews. The literature covered 2001-2026, involved 59 sources, 952 authors, 298 author keywords, and 3016 cited references, with an annual growth rate of 6.2%. Annual output remained low before 2013, increased after 2019, and peaked in 2025 (n = 18), whereas 2026 represented partial-year data (n = 9). The United States was the dominant contributor and citation center, while Italy, China, India, England, Germany, Canada, France, Switzerland, and Australia formed the main international network. Keyword analysis identified three principal domains: testicular cancer/RPLND, penile cancer/inguinal lymphadenectomy, and male infertility-related robotic microsurgery. Robot-assisted surgery for male reproductive diseases is a small but expanding field organized around distinct oncologic and reproductive surgery applications. Publication and citation activity is more extensive for testicular cancer/RPLND and penile cancer nodal surgery than for fertility-directed microsurgical reconstruction; however, bibliometric prominence should not be interpreted as greater clinical maturity, quality of evidence, or superiority. Future research should emphasize standardized indications, multicenter outcome reporting, fertility and oncologic endpoints, learning-curve assessment, and cost-effectiveness evaluation.