# Spread of shingles impeded by previous surgical scar?

## TL;DR

A case of shingles showed that the virus could not cross a previous surgical scar due to nerve damage and instead spread in a different direction.

## Contribution

Demonstrates how surgical scarring can influence the spread of the varicella zoster virus.

## Key findings

- The virus could not spread across the surgical scar due to damaged cutaneous nerves.
- The virus detoured to the upper left from the scar instead of spreading normally.
- This case highlights the role of nerve pathways in shingles progression.

## Abstract

We herein report an atypical case of shingles caused by varicella zoster virus after surgery. The virus, which goes along with the cutaneous nerve from the ganglia, was unable to spread across the previous surgical scar due to damage of the cutaneous nerves, but made a detour to the upper left direction from the scar.