We investigated the clinical course of 48 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with amyloidosis who had undergone operation of the joint or cervical spine. The patients consisted of three males and 45 females with a mean age of 40 years. Sixteen patients (34%) had been operated at more than three joints. Eleven patients (23%) had been operated at the cervical spine, and 17 patients (35%) died. The mean period from the time of diagnosis of amyloidisis to death was 2.3 years(range : 2 months to 7 years). Operation-plants must be developed very carefully for amyloidosis. Pre-operative assessment for RA including amyloidosis and inflannatory control are important.
