Citation Nr: 22040802 Decision Date: 07/16/22 Archive Date: 07/16/22 DOCKET NO. 15-12 618 DATE: July 16, 2022 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a recurrent right ankle disability, to include an Achilles tendon disability, is denied. FINDING OF FACT Recurrent right ankle and Achilles tendon disabilities have not been objectively shown to have originated during active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a recurrent right ankle disability, to include an Achilles tendon disability, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from June 1968 to August 1974. He served in the Republic of Vietnam and was awarded the Parachute Badge Service Connection Service connection may be granted for recurrent disability arising from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 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). The service treatment records do not refer to right ankle and right Achilles disabilities or injuries. An October 2012 physical evaluation from P. Yocom, D.C., states that the Veteran complained of recurrent right Achilles tendon pain which persisted to the present. The Veteran was noted to have injured his right Achilles tendon while on active service in Germany in 1970. The doctor observed that "the Veteran has an area one inch above the right heel that palpates as a healed tear;" "that area appears to be a tendonous rupture that has resolved via the infiltration of mesenchymal tissue;" "such tendonous biological repair is generally reasonably strong, however stiffness upon use and motion is a sequela;" and "this is due to the fact that the mesenchymal tissue is of a dissimilar orientation, elastic limit, and space occupancy than was the original tissue which it replaced." Dr. Yocom concluded that "[i]t is more likely than not that the aforementioned is directly and casually related to injury as discussed" and [i]t is more likely than not that same is directly and causally related to [the Veteran's] military service. In an August 2017 written statement from the Veteran indicates that he injured his left heel in 1970 while stationed in Germany. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinical documentation dated July 2018 indicates the Veteran had a history of "resolved right Achilles." The report of an October 2019 ankle examination conducted for VA conveys that the "Veteran does not have a diagnosis of right Achilles tendonitis due to the lack of subjective and objective factors." The report of an April 2022 ankle examination conducted for VA states that the Veteran denied having any right ankle and Achilles tendon disabilities. No right ankle and Achilles tendon disabilities were identified. The examiner indicated that "[t]here is no evidence of right Achilles condition, the consultation by Dr. Yocom incorrectly notes right Achilles injury, the claimant himself states multiple times he has a left Achilles tendinitis." (Continued on the next page) The Veteran has denied having recurrent right ankle and Achilles tendon disabilities. He has reported that he had left ankle, heel, and Achilles tendon injury incurred during active service. At the October 2019 and April 2022 VA ankle examinations, the Veteran neither complained of nor exhibited recurrent right ankle and Achilles tendon disabilities. While Dr. Yocom concluded that the Veteran had recurrent right Achilles tendon injury residuals, the examiner at the April 2022 VA examination specifically addresses those findings and noted "the consultation by Dr. Yocom incorrectly notes right Achilles injury, the claimant himself states multiple times he has a left Achilles tendinitis." Given the objective documentation of a left Achilles tendon disabilities and the absence of any evidence of right ankle and Achilles disability, the Board finds that Dr. Yocom was describing the left Achilles tendon rather than the right Achilles tendon. Indeed, Dr. Yocom's failure to note any left Achilles tendon disability further supports such a conclusion. Recurrent right ankle and Achilles disabilities have not been shown during active service or any time thereafter. In absence of current disability, service connection for a recurrent right ankle disability, to include an Achilles tendon disability, is not warranted. To the extent that he seeks service connection for left ankle and Achilles tendon disabilities, the Board encourages the Veteran to file a formal claim for such disability. J. T. HUTCHESON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Emily A. Kotroco 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.