Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2026, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (15): 4010-4020.doi: 10.12307/2026.194

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Stepwise surgical treatment of knee osteoarthritis and the application trends of three surgical procedures: a bibliometric analysis

Wang Jingyi1, An Shuai1, Li Daoqin1, He Tao1, Feng Mingli1, La Gaoyan2, Li Zheng1, Cheng Jingbo1   

  1. 1Department of Orthopedics, 2Department of Rehabilitation, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
  • Accepted:2025-08-04 Online:2026-05-28 Published:2025-11-10
  • Contact: An Shuai, MD, Associate chief physician, Department of Orthopedics, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
  • About author:Wang Jingyi, Department of Orthopedics, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
  • Supported by:
    Capital Health Development Scientific Research Special Project, No. 2024-2-2015 (to AS); Hebei Provincial Health Commission Medical Science Research Project, No. 20261349 (to AS); Xuanwu Hospital "Talent Training Program", No. YC20250201 (to AS)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: In recent years, the number of literature related to the stepped treatment of knee osteoarthritis has increased year by year, but there is a lack of bibliometric studies. 
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the current status of global research on total knee arthroplasty, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, and high tibial osteotomy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis from 2009 to 2023, and to predict the treatment trends and development of these three surgical procedures.
METHODS: Articles related to the three procedures published from January 2009 to December 2023 were retrieved from Web of Science Core Database (WoSCC) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Microsoft Office Excel2019, COOC, NoteExpress4.0.0.9756, bibliometric online analysis platform, CiteSpace6.3.R1, VOSviewer 1.6.20, and Biblioshiny were used for statistical analysis and literature visualization analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) A total of 2 203 research articles in Chinese and 7 102 articles in English were retrieved and analyzed. The number of papers in this field is fluctuating year by year. (2) After analyzing the Chinese literature of CNKI, Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research published the most papers with 127 papers. The Department of Orthopedics and Orthopedics of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University published 21 papers, which was the institution with the most papers. The clustering encompasses three main components: perioperative management and surgical materials technology, core surgical techniques and technological innovations, as well as pathogenesis, anatomical studies, and efficacy evaluation. (3) Analysis of English literature in Web of Science shows that the United States has the largest number of published literature, followed by China. The United States is the country with the highest total number of citations in the literature related to the three surgical procedures, followed by the United Kingdom, which has more cooperation with other countries. The Journal of Arthroplasty had the largest number of articles with 733. The New York Hospital for Special Surgery is the institution with the largest number of publications, with a total of 201 articles. (4) In the co-occurrence analysis, the keywords related to the three surgical methods can be divided into three categories, focusing on: perioperative surgical methods and efficacy evaluation, disease classification and pathological mechanism, cross-joint treatment and comprehensive evaluation. The number of studies on total knee arthroplasty is the largest, followed by unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and high tibial osteotomy, among which the average occurrence time of keywords of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and high tibial osteotomy is late but, on the rise, among which high tibial osteotomy has gradually shown a trend of equaling unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, and total knee arthroplasty has always been a research hotspot. (5) It is concluded that with the deepening of the aging trend, the incidence of knee osteoarthritis and the number of publications in this field will continue to increase, and the research volume of "knee-saving" surgery unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and high tibial osteotomy will continue to increase, and total knee arthroplasty will continue to be a research hotspot as a classic surgery for the end-stage treatment of osteoarthritis.

Key words: knee osteoarthritis, stepwise surgical treatment, bibliometrics, visual analysis

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