The Board denied the veteran's claim for a temporary total rating following surgery to remove a lipoma on her thigh, finding that the lipoma was unrelated to her service-connected left knee disorder.
The deciding factor: A VA physician concluded that the lipoma removed from the veteran's thigh in December 1999 was not causally related to her service-connected chondromalacia of the patella with synovitis, quadriceps atrophy and arthritic changes.
- Claimed conditions
- chondromalacia of the left patella with synovitis, quadriceps atrophy and arthritic changes, lipoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2003
- Citation
- 0302796
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 175 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0302796.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for neck scar as secondary to lipoma because there is no evidence that the lipoma or its removal was related to service.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for arrhythmia and a bilateral eye disability, but denied service connection for lipoma.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a bilateral foot disability, diagnosed as plantar fasciitis, and a right shoulder disability, diagnosed as right shoulder strain. The claims for left knee, right knee, and lipoma were denied.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for acne, to include as secondary to a service-connected psychiatric disorder, and dismissed the appeals for lipoma, migraine headaches, and sleep apnea condition. The claim for a neck and cervical spine condition was remanded.
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