Citation Nr: 18160945 Decision Date: 12/28/18 Archive Date: 12/28/18 DOCKET NO. 17-12 451 DATE: December 28, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for recurrent rectal abscess is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from May 2000 to May 2012. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in New York, New York. The Veteran was denied entitlement to service connection for lower back pain, entitlement to service connection for a right wrist condition, and entitlement to service connection for a right knee condition in February 2015. He filed a timely notice of disagreement in September 2015, and the conditions were granted in a February 2017 rating decision. The Veteran did not file a notice of disagreement for the assigned disability evaluations, and those claims are not before the Board. Recurrent Rectal Abscess The Veteran’s recurrent rectal abscess has been rated as 10 percent disabling under Diagnostic Code 7339-7336. Hyphenated diagnostic codes are used when a rating under one diagnostic code requires use of an additional diagnostic code to identify the basis for the evaluation assigned; the additional code is shown after the hyphen. 38 C.F.R. §4.27 (2017). At the outset, the Board finds that the Veteran’s recurrent rectal abscess is more appropriately rated under Diagnostic Code 7336, as there is no evidence that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of a hernia. Under Diagnostic Code 7336, a 10 percent rating is warranted where there is evidence of large or thrombotic hemorrhoids, which are irreducible, with excessive redundant tissue, evidencing frequent recurrences. A 20 percent rating, the maximum schedular rating, is warranted where hemorrhoids are present, with persistent bleeding and secondary anemia, or with fissures. The Veteran’s last VA examination for his recurrent rectal abscess was in February 2018, and the examiner noted, among other symptoms, persistent bleeding. She did not, however, indicate whether the Veteran suffered from anemia, nor whether there were fissures present. When VA undertakes to provide a VA examination or obtain a VA opinion it must ensure that the examination or opinion is adequate. Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303 (2007). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain all outstanding VA medical records and ask the Veteran to provide authorizations for any private medical records he would like considered in connection with his appeal. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected rectal abscess. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. Specifically, the examiner should state whether the Veteran’s service-connected rectal abscess has been productive of secondary anemia or fissures during the appeal period. TRACIE N. WESNER Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Daniels, Associate Counsel