BVA9504239 
DOCKET NO.  93-04 973     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Wilmington,
Delaware

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for chloracne as secondary to
Agent Orange exposure.

WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Appellant

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

James L. March, Associate Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The veteran had active service form July 1969 to March 1971,
including service in the Republic of Vietnam.  This appeal comes
to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a June 1992 rating
decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional
Office (RO) in Wilmington, Delaware.

REMAND

In June 1971, within one year of his return from Vietnam, the
veteran was hospitalized with a dermatitis covering his entire
body.  The impression was generalized erythrodermatitis.  In
April 1992, a VA examination was conducted.  The examiner, L.C.
Chung, M.D., diagnosed chloracne of the back and face and behind
the ears.  The RO sent a memorandum to Dr. Chung requesting that
he review the June 1971 hospital reports and provide an opinion
as to whether the skin disorder present in June 1971 was
chloracne.  The RO received a note indicating that there was no
reason to believe that the veteran's case of erythroderma was
related to chloracne.  The note, however, was not from Dr. Chung.
In fact, it is not even clear whether the note was from a medical
professional.  Before the Board can properly address the issue on
appeal, this matter must be clarified.

In view of the foregoing, the Board concludes that further RO
actions, as specified below, are necessary.  Accordingly, the
case is REMANDED to the RO for the following actions:

1.  The RO should contact the veteran and
request that he identify the names,
addresses, and approximate dates of
treatment for all VA and non-VA health care
providers who have treated him for skin
disability since his discharge from service.
With any necessary authorization from the
veteran, the RO should attempt to obtain
copies of pertinent treatment records
identified by the veteran which have not
been previously secured.

2.  Then, the RO should arrange for a VA
dermatology examination of the veteran by an
appropriate specialist, preferably Dr.
Chung, to determine the current nature and
extent of his skin disability.  All
indicated studies should be performed.  It
is imperative that the claims folder and a
copy of this Remand be provided to the
examining physician for review prior to the
examination.  The examiner is requested to
provide an opinion, with detailed rationale,
as to whether it is at least as likely as
not that the skin disorder for which the
veteran underwent treatment in June 1971 was
chloracne or an acneform disease consistent
with chloracne.

3.  The RO should then undertake any other
indicated development and readjudicate the
issue on appeal.

If the claim is not granted to the veteran's satisfaction, the
veteran should be issued a supplemental statement of the case and
be afforded a reasonable opportunity to reply.  Thereafter, the
case should be returned to the Board for further appellate
consideration, if otherwise in order.

In taking this action, the Board implies no conclusion as to any
ultimate outcome warranted.  No action is required of the veteran
until he is otherwise notified by the RO.

          SHANE A. DURKIN
          Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

(CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)

The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals.  This remand is in the nature of a
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board
on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (1994).