Citation Nr: 21067613
Decision Date: 11/04/21	Archive Date: 11/04/21

DOCKET NO. 18-33 774
DATE: November 4, 2021

REMANDED

The appeal as to whether the reduction in the rating assigned for residual surgical scars s/p mastectomy (previously rated as scars, residuals of gynecomastia surgery, claimed as post-operative scarring and range of motion, chest and abdomen) from 10 percent to 0 percent, effective September 1, 2017, was proper, is remanded.  

Entitlement to a compensable evaluation for residual surgical scars s/p mastectomy (previously rated as scars, residuals of gynecomastia surgery, claimed as post-operative scarring and range of motion, chest and abdomen) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from January 1975 to September 1978.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2017 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

In September 2020, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing.  The transcript of that hearing has been associated with the Veteran's claims file.  

The Board has recharacterized the issue on appeal to incorporate the Veteran's initial pursuit of an increased evaluation and the subsequent propriety of the rating reduction.

1. The appeal as to whether the reduction in the rating assigned for residual surgical scars s/p mastectomy (previously rated as scars, residuals of gynecomastia surgery, claimed as post-operative scarring and range of motion, chest and abdomen) from 10 percent to 0 percent, effective September 1, 2017, was proper, is remanded.  

2. Entitlement to a compensable rating for residual surgical scars s/p mastectomy (previously rated as scars, residuals of gynecomastia surgery, claimed as post-operative scarring and range of motion, chest and abdomen) is remanded.

A review of the record indicates that the Veteran last received an examination for his disability in July 2016, and the Veteran took exception to the manner in which the examination was conducted.  Moreover, the Board notes that the available treatment records are inadequate to properly evaluate the severity of the Veteran's disability.  VA's duty to assist also includes providing a new medical examination when the available evidence is too old for an adequate evaluation of the current disorder and the disability may have worsened.  Thus, for the above stated reasons, the Board finds a remand is necessary to afford the Veteran a contemporaneous examination by a new examiner to determine the current severity of his disability.  See Allday v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 517, 526 (1995) (indicating that, where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the claimant's disability, fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a contemporaneous medical examination, particularly if there is no additional medical evidence that adequately addresses the level of impairment of the disability since the previous examination).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records from June 2, 2020, to the present.  

2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to evaluate the severity of his scar by an appropriate examiner other than the examiner who examined the Veteran in July 2016.  

 

 

Michael J. Skaltsounis

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Rescan, Counsel

The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.