Trends in the body of literature on selective dorsal rhizotomy: a bibliometric analysis spanning 12 decades

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to report the results of a bibliometric analysis of the 12-decade body of literature on selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). METHODS: The authors queried the Web of Science database for English-language articles relevant to SDR. Article authorship, keywords, and citations were captured with high fidelity and extracted using analyses performed primarily using the Bibliometrix tool in the R statistical package. Reference publication year spectroscopy (RPYS) was used to explore high-impact years with seminal papers advancing the understanding of the SDR technique and applications. RESULTS: Between 1912 and 2025, the mean annual growth rate of publications on SDR was 0.98%, leading to a comprehensive corpus of 1184 documents (793 articles) from 3747 unique authors. International co-authorship increased over the 12-decade period analyzed, with contemporary analysis demonstrating international collaboration on 20.47% of articles published from 2010 to 2025. The Journal of Neurosurgery, and later the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, demonstrated consistent impact, while the journal Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology published the most articles, published articles that were cited most frequently, and published articles that had the highest impact. Early in the publication record, etiologic and technical terms such as pain, stimulation, and gait analysis were prominent. More recently, research focus has shifted toward unified outcome measures, including gross motor function, along with procedure reliability, follow-up, and surgical outcomes. The terms "children," "cerebral palsy," and "spasticity" have remained constant areas of interest measured via keyword analysis. Using RPYS, 31 foundational articles on SDR were identified, with contemporary RPYS articles highlighting cross-discipline discussion and patient selection strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Interest in SDR increased in the late 1980s and early 1990s, coinciding with advances in cerebral palsy classification and improvements in gross motor function scales. The focus of SDR research demonstrated a shift from technique and etiology to outcomes and cross-disciplinary patient selection. The modern era is characterized by collaborative research that spans international borders and involves neurosurgical patient selection in collaboration with colleagues in rehabilitative fields.