Visualizing research trends and collaboration networks in surgery: a case study of bilateral axillo-breast approach surgery [2007-2024].

Background: Bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA) offers a remote-access technique for thyroidectomy that maintains the advantages of conventional surgery while eliminating visible neck scarring. Despite its increasing global adoption, no comprehensive bibliometric analysis has been conducted to examine the academic progression of BABA. This study evaluates publication trends, citation networks, and keyword patterns in BABA-related literature over the past 18 years.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using data from PubMed and Web of Science (WoS) covering the period before 2024. Articles were retrieved using search terms related to BABA. Citation networks, co-authorships, and keyword clusters were visualized using bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer and CiteSpace. Following data cleaning and standardization, articles were included in the analysis.

Results: This study analyzed 170 publications related to the BABA technique and visualized research trends and the status of global collaboration networks through annual publication trends, co-citation analysis, keyword analysis, citation relationships among countries and institutions, as well as author and journal analyses. South Korea published the largest number of articles (106, 62.4%), followed by China (37, 21.8%) and the United States (19, 11.2%). In addition, articles were published by authors from various other countries. Additionally, keyword analysis revealed "robotic thyroidectomy" and "endoscopic thyroidectomy" as major recurring themes, with a marked increase in frequency since 2010, indicating a steady rise in academic interest in the BABA technique.

Conclusions: According to 18 years of bibliometric analysis, research on the BABA surgical technique has expanded significantly, accompanied by growing academic interest and widespread global adoption. Studies related to BABA have been actively conducted in South Korea, the United States, and China, with researchers from other countries increasingly showing interest and beginning to implement the technique in clinical practice. These findings suggest the potential for even broader global adoption of the BABA approach in the future.