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Denied

The appellant's service-connected postoperative residuals of anal fistula and pseudofolliculitis barbae render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, as his other disabilities (including diabetes mellitus type 2, coronary artery disease, gout, dyslipidemia, severe osteoarthritis status post bilateral knee replacements, right shoulder arthroplasty, chronic low back pain, and degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine) make him unemployable.

The deciding factor: The appellant's service-connected disabilities (anal fistula and pseudofolliculitis barbae) are rated at 60% combined with other non-service-connected disabilities that render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

Claimed conditions
Postoperative residuals of anal fistula, Pseudofolliculitis barbae
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
60%
Decision date
September 11, 2006
Citation
0628683

Veterans Law Judge

D. C. Spickler

Decisions by this judge: 499 · Granted: 18% (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 0628683.

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