Bibliometric Analysis of Septoplasty: Trends, Influential Studies, and Global Contributions

Septoplasty is a frequently performed nasal airway procedure, yet the influence and provenance of its scientific literature have not been systematically quantified. We searched Clarivate Web of Science for "septoplasty," retrieved 2,528 records, and ranked them by citations. The 50 most-cited English-language articles were analyzed for citation count, publication year, country, institutional affiliation, authorship frequency, and Oxford Level of Evidence (LOE). Regression tested whether article characteristics predicted citation volume. The 50 papers accumulated 5639 citations (mean ± SD=112.8 ± 57.8; range=68-383). Publication years spanned 1989 to 2018, with a peak of 5 influential papers in 2010 (626 citations). Four authors-Rhee, Most, Garcia, and Kimbell-each authored 4 of the top papers. The United States produced half of all articles (25) and 3158 citations, far exceeding Canada (4 papers, 405 citations) and Germany (4, 389). Institutions with the highest output were the Medical College of Wisconsin (11 papers, 1,468 citations) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (7, 829). LOE distribution favored retrospective cohort studies (level III: 34/50). Univariate analysis showed no citation association with LOE (P=0.445), article length (P=0.946), or publication year (P=0.666), whereas country of origin was significant (P=0.016); multivariate models confirmed higher citations for United States, Turkish, and Italian studies. These findings demonstrate that septoplasty scholarship is dominated by a small group of authors and US centers, relies largely on Level III evidence, and that geographic origin-not study design-best predicts citation impact. Targeted international collaboration and higher-quality prospective research are needed to diversify and strengthen future septoplasty literature.