Global research hotspots and trends on robotic surgery in obstetrics and gynecology: a bibliometric analysis based on VOSviewer

Abstract

Objective: Over the last two decades, the quantity of papers published in relation to robotic surgery in obstetrics and gynecology has continued to grow globally. However, no bibliometric analysis based on VOSviewer has been performed to evaluate the past and present of global research in the field. In this study, we aimed to analyze the bibliometric characteristics of papers on robotic surgery in obstetrics and gynecology to reveal research hotspots and trends in this field.

Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for scientific papers on robotic surgery in obstetrics and gynecology published between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2023. Bibliometric metadata of each selected paper was extracted for analysis. The results were visualized by VOSviewer (version 1.6.18).

Results: A total of 1,430 papers met the inclusion criteria. The United States had the highest total link strengths and contributed the most papers (n = 793). The Mayo Clinic produced the largest number of papers (n = 85), and Professor Pedro T Ramirez contributed the most papers (n = 36). The number of citations ranged from 0 to 295 with a total sum of 29,103. The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology published the most relevant papers (n = 252). Keywords were classified into six clusters based on co-occurrence data, of which cluster 1, cluster 4 and cluster 6 had more main keywords with the largest average publication year.

Conclusions: This is the first VOSviewer-based bibliometric analysis of robotic surgery research in obstetrics and gynecology. The United States was the leading country, and the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology was the most productive journal in the field. Scientists and institutions from around the world should push their boundaries to bring about deep collaboration. The main research topic has always been the use of robotic surgery in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies. More randomized controlled trials need to be conducted to compare surgical outcomes of robotic surgery with other surgical approaches. Robotic sacrocolpopexy for pelvic organ prolapse has become a new research hotspot, and robotic surgery for sentinel lymph node detection in gynecologic malignancies are more potential directions for future research.

Keywords: VOSviewer; Web of Science; bibliometric analysis; obstetrics and gynecology; robotic surgery.

Figure 1

A flow diagram on inclusion and exclusion of papers related to robotic surgery in obstetrics and gynecology.

Figure 2

Number of papers published per year from 1998 to 2023.

Figure 3

Network visualization map of countries/regions’ co-authorship analysis. The size of the node indicates co-authorship frequency. A line between two nodes indicates collaboration between two countries/regions. The line thickness between two nodes corresponds to the line strength, which varied depending on the number of papers co-authored. Stronger collaboration is indicated by thicker lines. Countries/regions with high levels of collaboration are depicted by nodes of the same color.

Figure 4

Network visualization map of authors’ co-authorship analysis. The size of the node indicates co-authorship frequency. A line between two nodes indicates collaboration between two authors. The line thickness between two nodes corresponds to the line strength, which varied depending on the number of papers co-authored. Stronger collaboration is indicated by thicker lines. Authors with high levels of collaboration are depicted by nodes of the same color.

Figure 5

Network visualization map of organizations’ co-authorship analysis. The size of the node indicates co-authorship frequency. A line between two nodes indicates collaboration between two organizations. The line thickness between two nodes corresponds to the line strength, which varied depending on the number of papers co-authored. Stronger collaboration is indicated by thicker lines. Organizations with high levels of collaboration are depicted by nodes of the same color.

Figure 6

Network visualization map of keyword co-occurrence analysis conducted by VOSviewer. The size of a node indicates the frequency of keyword occurrence, and keywords are classified into six clusters: application of robotic surgery in gynecologic benign diseases (cluster 1), surgical outcomes of robotic surgery for endometrial cancer (cluster 2), cost and learning curve of robotic surgery for gynecologic diseases (cluster 3), robotic surgery for sentinel lymph node detection in gynecologic malignancies (cluster 4), robotic surgery for gynecologic oncology (cluster 5), and robotic sacrocolpopexy for pelvic organ prolapse (cluster 6).

Figure 7

Overlay visualization map of keyword co-occurrence analysis conducted by VOSviewer. Keywords are imparted by using different colors based on the APY.

Figure 8

Density visualization map of keyword co-occurrence analysis conducted by VOSviewer. The color of a keyword depends on its occurrence frequency. The red keywords appear most frequently, followed by the yellow, green and cyan keywords.