Transorbital Approach Scientific Trend: Analysis of Publications and Citations Over Years

Abstract Background: Transorbital approach has gained significant consideration over the last few years, as evidenced by the growing number of publications. The present study aims to describe and quantify the number of publications and citations over the years in order to identify key moments in its history. Methods: Data from annual publications and citations of the transorbital approach between 1950 and 2022 have been extracted from the Web of Science and later uploaded to Microsoft Excel. Three parameters were analyzed: 1) absolute number of publications; 2) annual absolute growth of citations; 3) trend of publications. Results: Results showed an average number of publications of 18.6 with 266 citations per year. Regarding the number of publications, the analysis showed four key moments in history: 1985, 2001, 2010-2011, and 2018-2019. Around 1985, related to studies on transorbital lobotomy. Around 2001, due to experimental studies in vascular pathology. During 2010-2011, when the concept of transorbital neuroendoscopic surgery was introduced. Around 2018-2019, when different case series were published. However, analyzing the annual absolute growth of citations, one key moment was detected: 2019, achieving a significant positive annual growth of +522 citations. The analysis of the publication trend shows a positive trend line, forecasting 60-63 publications per year in the next 3-5 years. Conclusions: Despite the inherent limitation of this study, this analysis showed that the recent 2019 is a turning point for transorbital surgery being the year with the most citations and publications. The following years will determine the exact place of this technique in the skull base armamentarium.