Lee Inho, Kim Sung Heuk, Gweon Gahgene, Yu Hyeong Won, Kim Su-Jin, Chai Young Jun, Choi June Young, Lee Kyu Eun
Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Republic of Korea.
Department of Health Science and Technology, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Gland Surg. 2025 Aug 31;14(8):1572-1584. doi: 10.21037/gs-2025-167. Epub 2025 Aug 26.
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.
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.
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.
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.
双侧腋窝-乳房入路（BABA）为甲状腺切除术提供了一种远程入路技术，该技术在消除可见颈部瘢痕的同时保留了传统手术的优势。尽管其在全球范围内的应用日益广泛，但尚未进行全面的文献计量分析来审视BABA的学术进展。本研究评估了过去18年中与BABA相关文献的发表趋势、引文网络和关键词模式。
使用来自PubMed和科学网（WoS）的数据进行文献计量分析，数据涵盖2024年之前的时间段。使用与BABA相关的检索词检索文章。使用VOSviewer和CiteSpace等文献计量工具可视化引文网络、共同作者关系和关键词聚类。经过数据清理和标准化后，将文章纳入分析。
本研究分析了170篇与BABA技术相关的出版物，并通过年度发表趋势、共被引分析、关键词分析、国家和机构之间的引文关系以及作者和期刊分析，可视化了研究趋势和全球合作网络的状况。韩国发表的文章数量最多（106篇，62.4%），其次是中国（37篇，21.8%）和美国（19篇，11.2%）。此外，其他各个国家的作者也发表了文章。此外，关键词分析显示“机器人甲状腺切除术”和“内镜甲状腺切除术”是主要的反复出现的主题，自2010年以来频率显著增加，表明对BABA技术的学术兴趣稳步上升。
根据18年的文献计量分析，对BABA手术技术的研究有了显著扩展，同时学术兴趣不断增加且在全球广泛应用。韩国、美国和中国积极开展了与BABA相关的研究，其他国家的研究人员也越来越感兴趣并开始在临床实践中应用该技术。这些发现表明未来BABA入路在全球更广泛应用的潜力。
