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[Transitory blindness after transurethral resection of the prostate]
J A Virseda Rodríguez1, I Hernández Millán, M Segura Martín
1Servicio de Urología del Hospital General de Albacete, España.
Objective:
To describe a case of transient blindness post-TURP, a complication of the foregoing procedure.
Methods/Results:
The patient developed transient blindness following transurethral prostatic resection, ascribable to the resorption of the irrigation fluid (1.5% glycine), since this condition coincided with high serum glycine levels and its metabolites.
Conclusion:
The toxicity of glycine resorption during TURP is attributed to its metabolization to ammonia. Hyperammonemia encephalopathy causes inhibition of the brain neurotransmitters at different levels of the CNS, as well as in the retina. High intraocular concentrations of glycine affect the retinal amacrine cells, causing transient histological changes.