The veteran's service-connected hidradenitis suppurativa requires topical and antibacterial therapy, but that therapy is not equivalent to systemic therapy such as corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive drugs. The active manifestations of the disability involve less than 20 percent of the entire body and less than 20 percent of exposed areas of the body, and are not manifested by permanent gross distortion or asymmetry of one feature or a paired set of features.
The deciding factor: The veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa was characterized at least 50 percent of the time by exudation or ulceration requiring surgical drainage or excision, warranting a 30 percent evaluation under the revised criteria for skin disorders effective August 30, 2002.
- Claimed conditions
- hidradenitis suppurativa
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2006
- Citation
- 0605013
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,515 · Granted: 20% (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 0605013.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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 Veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa is rated at 10 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under VA regulations.,The Veteran's tension headaches do not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating as there are no characteristic prostrating attacks averaging one in two months over the last several months.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hidradenitis suppurativa, a cyst condition that the Veteran first experienced during active duty in 2008. The decision is based on the Veteran's competent lay testimony and medical evidence showing current disability and continuity of symptoms since service.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal regarding the denial of service connection for hidradenitis suppurativa, a bilateral armpit disability, in a June 2016 rating decision is dismissed due to procedural defects.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa is granted a 60 percent disability rating, effective from the date of the decision. The claim for TDIU has been remanded.
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