Research hotspots and trends in surgical treatment of patellar dislocation in adolescents: A bibliometric study and visualization analysis (2016-2025)

Background: Operative stabilization remains the definitive therapeutic strategy for managing patellar dislocation in the adolescent population, yet a holistic and structural mapping of its evolving scientific paradigm remains absent. This study leveraged advanced bibliometric visualization platforms to systematically delineate the global research landscape, evolutionary trajectories, and contemporary intellectual frontiers regarding the surgical management of adolescent patellar instability.Methods: A meticulous, comprehensive literature search was conducted across the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and PubMed databases to retrieve publications focusing on the surgical treatment of pediatric and adolescent patellar dislocation published between 2016 and 2025. Data screening, network coupling, and visualization graphs were constructed utilizing GraphPad Prism (v8.0.2), VOSviewer (v1.6.18), and CiteSpace (v6.2.4R, 64-bit Advanced).Results: A total of 2,905 full-text publications were retrieved, demonstrating a distinct transition from extensive exploratory expansion (2016–2019) to mature consolidation (2021–2025). The United States comprehensively dominated this research domain, maintaining an absolute leadership position by housing all of the top 10 most productive institutions, led by Harvard Medical School (78 papers). Canada demonstrated the highest academic citation impact (mean citation: 21.60), whereas China ranked second quantitatively (273 papers) but exhibited a lower mean impact (9.26). Highly specialized sports medicine platforms, primarily The American Journal of Sports Medicine, constituted the foundational evidence base. Reference co-citation clustering  confirmed that "medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction" represents the permanent global centerpiece. Dual-map overlap and timeline evolutionary trajectories demonstrated a paradigm shift from early anatomical and etiological inquiries toward outcome-oriented clinical prognosis. Keyword and citation burst tracking highlighted that allograft utilization, safety profiles, functional outcome measures, and growth-plate-respecting individualized algorithmic interventions constitute the premier contemporary research frontiers.Conclusions: Surgical investigations into adolescent patellar dislocation have shifted from basic technical descriptions toward precision sports medicine and individualized, prognosis-centric stratification. Future advancements rely on enhancing international multi-center registries to optimize personalized therapeutic guidelines while strictly respecting physeal integrity.