Citation Nr: 21014610 Decision Date: 03/15/21 Archive Date: 03/15/21 DOCKET NO. 18-33 966 DATE: March 15, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from June 16, 2008 to June 15, 2012 and from June 16, 2012 to July 19, 2015. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2018 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran’s claim was previously before the Board in July 2019, at which time the Board denied the claim. In May 2020, a Joint Motion for Partial Remand was granted by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, vacating this portion of the July 2019 Board decision. The Board previously remanded this matter in October 2020. 1. Entitlement to service connection for IBS is remanded. The Veteran contends that he has IBS that is related to service. The Veteran’s service records reflect service in Afghanistan. The Veteran did not serve in the Southwest Asia Theater; therefore, presumptive service connection for IBS as a chronic disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.317 is not applicable to this case. A May 2017 VA treatment record indicates that his service conditions and injuries include exposure to burn pits in Afghanistan and a dog bite in the Philippines. The Veteran has not been afforded an examination for IBS. Given his reported in-service exposure to burn pits and injury and his reported diagnosis of IBS, a VA examination and medical opinion is necessary to ascertain whether the Veteran has a gastrointestinal disorder, to include IBS, that is related to active service. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for a gastrointestinal disorder, to include IBS. The examiner must review the claims file. (a) If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran’s condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a “disability” for the purpose of providing the requested opinion below. (b) The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: 1) Is IBS at least as likely as not related to service, including the Veteran’s reported exposure to burn pits in Afghanistan and his history of a dog bite in the Philippines? Provide a rationale to support the opinion. 2) In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran’s description of his in-service injury and symptoms as well as his post-service symptoms. If there is any medical reason to accept or reject the proposition that the Veteran’s reported injury and symptoms in service and thereafter represented the onset of his current disability, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran’s reports about his symptoms align with how the currently diagnosed disability is known to develop or are the Veteran’s reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible? K. MARENNA Veterans Law Judge Acting Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Catherine Cykowski 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.