Bibliometric and visualized analysis of research relating to minimally invasive spine surgery reported over the period 2000-2022.

Background: Since entering the 21 century, there has been an increasing interest in minimally invasive surgery for spinal diseases, which has led to the continued development of minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS), with major breakthroughs in technology and technical skills. However, in recent years, there is little relevant research using bibliometrics to analyze the field of MISS research. The purpose of this study is to sort out the publication situation and topic trends of articles in the field of MISS research from the perspective of bibliometrics.

Methods: The articles and reviews related to MISS from 2000 to 2022 were retrieved and downloaded from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC). Visualization and knowledge mapping were performed using three bibliometric tools, including online bibliometric platform, CiteSpace and VOSviewer software. Curve fitting and correlation analysis were performed using Microsoft Excel software. The global research publication output, contributions of countries, institutions, authors, and journals, average citations per item (ACI), Hirsch index (-index), research hot keywords, etc., in this field were analyzed.

Results: A total of 2384 papers were retrieved, including 2135 original papers and 249 review papers. In the past 22 years, the number of annual publications of MISS research has shown a steady growth trend. China contributed the most papers, and the United States ranked second, but the United States had the highest total citations, and -index value. The most prolific institutions were Soochow University, Capital Medical University and Wooridul Spine Hospital. In this field, Professors Lee SH, Ahn Y and Yang HL have made significant achievements. However, there is relatively little international collaboration between institutions or researchers. World Neurosurgery is the most published journal on MISS research. According to the keyword co-occurrence analysis, recent keywords mainly focus on researches on minimally invasive modalities, techniques and prognosis, while on the keyword analysis of the ongoing bursts, percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy, lumbar diskectomy, spinal stenosis, recompression, diskectomy, endoscopic spine surgery, laminectomy, transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, etc., will likely continue to be a research hotspot in the near future.

Conclusion: Looking at the temporal trend in the number of publications per year, the number of publications for the MISS study will increase in the near future. China has the highest number of publications, but the US has the highest quality publications. International cooperation needs to be further strengthened. Our findings can provide useful information for the academic community and identify possible research fronts and hotspots in the coming years.