Abstract

Objectives:
This study aimed to evaluate the scientific productivity, research trends, and collaboration patterns in the field of hand and upper extremity surgery in Türkiye through a bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in the Web of Science database.
Methods:
A comprehensive search of the Web of Science Core Collection was conducted on November 1, 2025. Keywords related to hand and upper extremity surgery, including hand, wrist, digit, finger, metacarpal, scaphoid, lunatum, capitate, hamate, carpometacarpal, Dupuytren, and De Quervain, were used. The search was limited to the categories of Surgery and Orthopedics and to publications originating from Türkiye. Bibliographic data, including publication year, authors, institutions, journals, and citation counts, were extracted. The data were exported in tab-delimited format and analyzed using VOSviewer to evaluate author productivity, institutional contributions, keyword co-occurrence, and collaboration networks.
Results:
A total of 4,222 publications were identified, of which 3,835 (88.08%) were original research articles. The earliest publication dated back to 1980, and the number of publications demonstrated a clear upward trend, with the highest productivity observed between 2020 and 2021. Köse O had the highest number of publications, whereas Kocaoğlu M had the highest number of citations. Hacettepe University ranked first in terms of both publication output and citation impact. Frequently used keywords included hand, carpal tunnel syndrome, fracture, and wrist.
Conclusion:
Scientific productivity in hand and upper extremity surgery research in Türkiye has increased steadily over time. Bibliometric findings highlight leading authors, institutions, and major research themes while demonstrating expanding collaboration networks.

Key words: bibliometric analysis; hand surgery; upper extremity