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To the Editor.—
A 37-year-old woman had had recurrent herpes simplex infections, type I, on the right thigh. The problem had recurred at least once yearly for 13 years. Virus studies had confirmed the identity of the virus and its type.The patient sustained a third-degree burn on the left arm. A full thickness graft was taken from the right thigh area where the recurring virus infections had occurred. The surgeon was not told of this problem before the donor site was selected. The donor and recipient sites healed uneventfully after surgery.Approximately ten months after both surgical sites had healed, the patient had the first recurrence of her herpesvirus infection on the right thigh within the donor site. Virus studies were repeated and herpes simplex, type I, was isolated. During the past three years, she has had five recurrences in the same (thigh) area and no evidence of any