The Board found that the veteran's current throat and neck disabilities are not related to his in-service retropharyngeal abscess, and thus denied service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence indicated that the veteran's current dysphonia and nasal septal perforation were not related to his in-service retropharyngeal abscess or directly to service.
- Claimed conditions
- retropharyngeal abscess, mild dysphonia, nasal septal perforation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2006
- Citation
- 0603554
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 0603554.
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: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's current septal perforation and residuals of a deviated septum, finding that these conditions were incurred in active service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's nasal disability, resulting in a persistent septal perforation causing headaches, pain, tenderness of the sinuses, and constant purulent discharge, is rated at 50 percent. The Veteran's lumbar spine disability, with multilevel degenerative changes and productive of forward flexion limited to 60 degrees with pain, but no ankylosis or other severe manifestations, is rated at 20 percent.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board finds that the Veteran's current nasal problems are less likely than not to represent an aggravation of his pre-existing nasal conditions and are at least as likely as not to represent the natural progression of his pre-existing conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's nasal septal perforation is as likely as not due to his in-service surgeries, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.
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