Visual analysis of minimally invasive surgery for breast cancer: a bibliometric analysis

Breast minimally invasive techniques are increasingly applied to breast cancer surgery, with the advantages of a small incision, minor trauma and aesthetics while treating the disease, contributing to improving the life quality of breast cancer patients. The main objective of this study was to explore and discuss the trends and hotspots in minimally invasive techniques for breast cancer surgery (MIBCS) from the last decade with bibliometric analysis, providing reference for exploration of new orientations for future research in that field. Related articles were searched from the Web of Science database, the collected data was analyzed on software to generate visualization knowledge maps. Bibliometric indicators covered publications, h-index, institutions, journals, authors, keywords, and research hotspots. China was ranked the highest for number of articles, followed by USA. The top five authors with the most publications were from Changhua Christian Hospital in Taiwan, who have contributed the most to MIBCS. The main hotspots were minimally invasive reconstruction, nipple-sparing mastectomy, and conserving surgery, with the postoperative results as the key research trend. From this study, Taiwan is the region of most contribution involving the number of publications, authors, journals, and institutions. Minimally invasive development still remains the core of MIBCS. At present, endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction has been well established. Endoscopic robot assisted surgery will be tried to be adopted by more doctors. The evaluation of postoperative results will exist throughout the time.