Blastomycosis infection of the knee treated with staged total knee arthroplasty.

Abstract

Blastomycosis is a rare fungal disease that can cause intraarticular infection and joint destruction requiring surgical reconstruction. We describe a patient who presented with destruction of the knee joint of unknown etiology. The patient was initially treated with debridement and spacer placement followed by antifungal therapy after cultures grew blastomycosis. Following adequate treatment of the infection, the patient was taken back to the operating room for reconstruction with a total knee arthroplasty. The patient had a successful outcome with no evidence of infection at two years following surgery. To our knowledge, this case report represents the first documented case in which a blastomycotic infection of a native knee was successfully treated with a two-stage total knee arthroplasty.