Diskogenic Reactivation of Herpes Zoster

Varicella zoster virus remains dormant in the dorsal root ganglia after childhood exposure to chickenpox. Its reactivation results in herpes zoster, otherwise known as shingles, which is a painful vesicular rash in a dermatomal distribution. We present a case of foraminal disk extrusion that resulted in radicular pain in a dermatomal distribution. The resultant inflammatory response around the dorsal root ganglion triggered an episode of shingles, which elegantly highlights the pathophysiology of this condition at a gross anatomic level.