BVA9504870 DOCKET NO. 93-11 141 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to an increased evaluation for traumatic arthritis of the right sacroiliac joint, currently evaluated at 20 percent disabling. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a hip and leg disorder secondary to a service-connected back disorder. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Nancy R. Kegerreis, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from January 1944 to December 1945. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a February 1992 rating decision by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Atlanta, Georgia, which denied service connection for a hip and leg disorder secondary to a service-connected back disorder and from an August 1992 rating decision which increased an evaluation for traumatic arthritis of the right sacroiliac joint from 10 percent to 20 percent, effective from December 1991. In regard to the latter decision, the veteran considered the allowance not to be a full grant of benefits sought on appeal. REMAND Having reviewed the claims file, the Board agrees with the veteran's representative that the May 1992 VA physical disability examination was not sufficiently detailed for the purpose of rendering a correct decision as to the issues presented. It appears that the examining physician may not have thoroughly reviewed the claims file to determine the previous medical history relative to the veteran's back disorder. Since the veteran has had a long history of ankylosing spondylitis, which has not been service-connected, in addition to residuals of traumatic arthritis of the right sacroiliac, which is service connected, it is important to distinguish as far as possible the degree to which the veteran's symptomatology and impairment can be attributed to each disorder. In addition, as the veteran's representative has pointed out, the range of motion studies were not specifically related to the cervical or lumbar spine, as required by the Physician's Guide for Disability Evaluation Examinations. The examiner also failed to provide an opinion as to the degree of severity of the veteran's spinal disorders. The Board notes as well that there is no evidence that the examiner and the radiologist jointly reviewed the x-ray films of the spine in order to correlate the radiographic findings with all the clinical findings, as required by the Guide, or that the current films were compared with previous x-rays. The veteran received a diagnosis of "progressive rheumatoid spondylitis" involving the cervical, dorsal, and lumbar spine, as early as October 1954. The VA examiner at that time noted that it was questionable whether any previous injury had any bearing upon the veteran's condition, as old records did not indicate any definite injury to the sacroiliac joints or the lumbar spine. Based on this statement, the Board is not clear as to the relationship, if any, between arthritis of the right sacroiliac joint and ankylosing spondylitis as manifested in the lumbar spine. It is also questionable as to whether an alleged "hip and leg" disorder may be attributed in any way to a service-connected injury. Therefore, the Board finds that further development of this case is required. Accordingly, this case is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. The RO should obtain any recent medical records, dating after May 1992 and to the present time, from the VA Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia, or other VA medical facility, relating to the veteran. 2. After the above development has been completed, the veteran should be afforded a special VA orthopedic examination to determine the nature and extent of his spinal disorder(s), and any hip or leg disorder that may be present. The examination should be conducted in accordance with the pertinent provisions of Chapter 2 of the VA Physician's Guide for Disability Evaluation Examinations (1985). Any indicated evaluations, studies, and tests deemed necessary by the examiner should be accomplished. The veteran's claims file must be made available to the examiner for a complete study of the case prior to, and during, the evaluation. The examiner is requested to provide an opinion as to the relationship, if any, between any findingss involving the right sacroiliac joint and any disorders found affecting the lumbar spine, hip(s) and leg(s), including ankylosing spondylitis, and as to the degree to which the veteran's present symptomatology, including symptoms which might be related to the hips and legs, can be attributed to a service-connected injury. When the requested development has been completed, the case should again be reviewed by the RO. Unless the veteran is satisfied with any favorable outcome and withdraws his appeal, the case then should be returned to the Board after compliance with the provisions for processing appeals, including the issuance of a supplemental statement of the case and provision of the applicable time period for response thereto. WARREN W. RICE, JR. Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals 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).