Citation Nr: 21014998 Decision Date: 03/16/21 Archive Date: 03/16/21 DOCKET NO. 14-27 935A DATE: March 16, 2021 ORDER Service connection for perianal hydradenitis (claimed as cystic acne on the buttocks) is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have a current skin condition of the perianal area or buttocks. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for perianal hydradenitis (claimed as cystic acne on buttocks) are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1965 to September 1967. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2013 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran and his spouse testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in March 2018. A transcript of the hearing is of record. Service Connection Service connection generally will be awarded when a veteran has a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § § 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). To establish service connection on a direct basis, the evidence must show: (1) a current disability; (2) incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in service; and (3) a link between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated in service (the “nexus” element). Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009). A claimant is entitled to the benefit of the doubt when there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence on any issue material to the claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; see Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55 (1990) (when the evidence supports the claim or is in relative equipoise, the claim will be granted). Perianal Hydradenitis The Veteran claims service connection for a skin condition of the perianal area and buttocks. For the following reasons, the Board finds that service connection is not established. The Veteran underwent an operation for perineal fistulas and hydradenitis in April 1986, as shown in the private treatment records. The operative report states that the condition had been present for one year. The Veteran states that he has not sought treatment for the condition since 2005. See June 2018 Correspondence. He does not state that he has experienced a skin condition of the perianal area or buttocks during the pendency of this claim. The medical evidence, including VA treatment records and private treatment records, does not show diagnoses or complaints of a skin condition involving these areas. A VA examination was performed in December 2020. The examination report reflects that the examiner reviewed the claims file and pertinent medical history, and examined the Veteran. The examiner stated that no skin condition was noted on examination, and that the condition had resolved. In the absence of a current disability, the criteria for service connection are not satisfied. See Holton, 557 F.3d at 1366. Because the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, the benefit-of-the-doubt rule does not apply. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. P.M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Rutkin, 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.