Rationale: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare postoperative complication of enterostomy, mostly developing from dermatitis, which may have serious consequence.
Patient concerns: A patient with lower rectal cancer receiving low anterior resection (LAR) and protective ileostomy was initially diagnosed with dermatitis, which very quickly developed to PG, though no medical or familial history was found.
Diagnosis: We diagnosed the patient with peristoaml dermatitis starting from a tiny skin ulceration, but corrected the diagnosis to PG because of the rapid development and severe consequences.
Interventions: Routine stoma care did not improve the condition, so we performed 2 terms of debridement, the closure of the stoma and autologous skin transplantation before finally solving the problem.
Outcomes: The patient was discharged 60 days after the first surgery and 5 days after the last one. After 18 months of follow-up, the patient kept in a stable condition.
Lessons: Medical staff should not neglect peristoaml dermatitis because of its common occurrence. Once the situation develops beyond the doctors' expectation, more efforts should be made to treat it, even expand debridement if possible.