The Board found that the Veteran's Porphyria Cutanea Tarda was not incurred or aggravated during service and is not related to exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. The claim for service connection was denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that PCT was not caused by Agent Orange exposure, citing medical literature and noting the presence of hepatitis C which is known to be associated with PCT.
- Claimed conditions
- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 19, 2009
- Citation
- 0931160
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 0931160.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT) due to it being a presumptively associated disease with herbicide exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical examination and unclear rating criteria application. The Veteran's skin disability is now rated as Porphyria Cutanea Tarda with dyshidrotic eczema, effective August 22, 2019.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus was denied, and his service connection claim for a skin condition including PCT due to herbicide exposure was remanded. The Board found no evidence of diabetic complications warranting separate ratings or any compensable conditions related to the Veteran's diabetes. For the skin condition claim, the Board noted that there is no record of a diagnosis of PCT and the Veteran’s current skin disabilities are not linked to his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disability, diagnosed as Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT), is reopened and granted due to herbicide agent exposure. The Board found that the evidence supports the diagnosis of PCT.
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