Skin grafting herpetic ulcers.

Recurrent and chronic herpetic skin ulcers are associated with the persistence of virus in the dorsal root ganglia serving the respective dermatomes. Descriptions of surgical approaches to control herpetic skin disease have recently appeared in the medical literature. We report the successful excision and skin grafting of chronic genital ulcers. Our subsequent animal studies support our expectations that potential seeding and reinfection of the grafted skin can occur following graft reinnervation. This problem must be watched for following grafts of herpetic ulcers in humans.