Hotspots and research trends on pterygium surgery

Purpose: This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of global research on surgical interventions for pterygium, a condition characterized by fibrovascular growth on the cornea that can cause visual impairment. Methods: This study employed bibliometric analysis using data from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Literature published from inception to 2024 was analyzed with the R package “bibliometrix,” as well as CiteSpace and VOSviewer. Results: By July 2024, a total of 1139 publications were identified, revealing a significant rise in studies since the 1990s. China and the United States were the most productive countries in this field. The Singapore National Eye Centre and Tel Aviv University emerged as the leading institutions in terms of publication output. The journal Cornea published the most articles, followed by the British Journal of Ophthalmology . The most impactful author was Tan DTH, followed by Kheirkhah A. The top 3 keywords identified were “excision,” “mitomycin-C,” and “recurrent pterygium.” Cluster analysis revealed 5 key clusters: surgical and pharmacological treatments, excision and graft transplantation methods, molecular mechanisms, clinical complications and management, and disease prevalence with anatomical context. Keyword bursts highlighted growing interest in “pathogenesis,” “prevalence,” and “efficacy.” Conclusions: This study presents the first bibliometric analysis of research on pterygium surgery. Future directions in this area may focus on targeted surgical strategies to enhance treatment efficacy.