Incidental Discovery of Ochronosis During Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Case Report and Literature Review

Ochronosis is a rare disease that causes rapid and severe destruction of large joints, and joint replacement is often required in advanced stages. Due to the rarity and lack of awareness of this condition, diagnosis is often made during surgery. We present the case of a 54-year-old woman who underwent knee arthroplasty with the incidental discovery of a black knee. Concerned by this situation, we aimed to review the available literature to assess functional outcomes and implant survivorship in this rare condition. Despite the low level of evidence in the literature, it would appear that total knee arthroplasty in ochronosis leads to good results in terms of pain relief and functional scores, and most importantly implant survivorship is comparable to that of the general population.