Strategies to maintain operating room functionality following the complete loss of the recovery room due to an internal disaster.

The post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) is a major contributor to the operating room (OR) process flow and efficiency. A sudden failure of hospital facility infrastructure due to a burst pipe resulted in the complete loss of a 66-bed combined preoperative and PACU facility of a major academic medical center. The OR suites were undamaged.

Intraoperative diagnosis of a functional paraganglioma presenting as a gastrointestinal stromal cell tumor (GIST).

The case of a young woman with a history of resolved Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, anxiety, and abdominal mass is presented. Pathologic examination confirmed paraganglioma. Despite catecholamine secretion and preoperative beta-blockers, cardiomyopathy did not recur.