The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for a pilonidal cyst due to new and material evidence submitted since the April 2009 rating decision. The Veteran did not have symptoms related to the pilonidal cyst prior to service entrance, as indicated by private opinions and his own statements.
The deciding factor: The new evidence indicates that the pilonidal cyst was acquired during service and is more likely than not aggravated by active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Pilonidal cyst
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19122259
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 961 · 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19122259.
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: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment prior to September 10, 2021.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine and pilonidal cyst are being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of medical expenses incurred during a non-VA hospitalization at UC Davis from November 18, to November 19, 2017 due to an emergency pilonidal cyst removal. The decision is based on the emergent nature of the condition and the need for fetal monitoring.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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