Citation Nr: 21022561 Decision Date: 04/16/21 Archive Date: 04/16/21 DOCKET NO. 19-31 409 DATE: April 16, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for chronic kidney disease, to include as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1980 to September 2005. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2018 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). A Board video-conference hearing was held in January 2021 before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge; a transcript of the hearing has been associated with the record. On remand, further development is needed to clarify whether or not a current disability exists. A July 2018 VA examiner found that the Veteran did not have a current diagnosis of kidney disease and found normal kidney function based on VA and private treatment records. However, approximately two years earlier, in 2016, the Veteran was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. Although the VA examiner acknowledged the prior diagnosis of chronic kidney disease, she did not offer an explanation as to how the chronic disease which was apparently severe enough to require dialysis, has somehow resolved. Clarification is therefore needed. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ensure all outstanding VA treatment records are associated with the file. 2. Obtain an addendum opinion from the July 2018 VA examiner, if available, as to the nature and etiology of claimed chronic kidney disease. If the requested examiner is not available, obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician. Whether an additional physical examination is necessary is left to the examiner’s discretion. After a thorough review of the claims file, the examiner should address the following: (a) The July 2018 VA examination found no evidence of chronic kidney disease. Please explain, to the extent possible, how the 2016 diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (that required dialysis) has apparently resolved. In doing so, the examiner should address: (i) the February 2016 and June 2016 private treatment records from Dr. J.N.P. which note chronic kidney disease on chronic dialysis. (Continued on the next page)   (b) A complete rationale should be provided. 3. Readjudicate the claim on appeal. S. B. MAYS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Moldawer, Associate 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.