The VA surgery to remove the veteran's left kidney and part of his 11th rib was deemed necessary for medical reasons, but it did not result in additional disability beyond what was already present. The tuberculous pleurisy is inactive and does not warrant an increased rating.
The deciding factor: The VA surgery was medically necessary, but the veteran did not sustain any additional disability as a result of the procedure.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Nephrectomy, Partial Removal of the 11th Rib
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 9, 2003
- Citation
- 0311970
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,055 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0311970.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted a rating of 70 percent for depressive disorder and awarded TDIU and SMC based on the statutory housebound rate. The Veteran's left nephrectomy is remanded for further evaluation.
- Denied
The Veteran's left nephrectomy is rated at 30 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The TDIU claim from October 12, 2007, remains pending.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's heart conditions did not have onset during service and are not otherwise related to service or a service-connected disability, including the service-connected partial nephrectomy, left and chronic bilateral nephrolithiasis.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's left kidney disorder, resulting in residuals of a left nephrectomy, was due to his congenital condition and not aggravated by service. Therefore, he is denied service connection for this issue.
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