BVA9502985 
DOCKET NO.  92-16 815     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Hartford,
Connecticut

THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disorder.

2.  Entitlement to service connection for a back disorder.

3.  Entitlement to an increased rating for varicose veins of the
left leg, currently evaluated as 20 percent disabling.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans

WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

The appellant

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Frank L. Christian, Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The veteran served on active duty from September 1944 to July
1946.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board)
on appeal from a rating decision of March 1992 from the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in
Hartford, Connecticut.

REMAND

The appellant has specifically contended that his currently
manifested back disorder and left knee disorder are caused by his
service-connected varicose veins of the left leg.

This case was previously before the Board in September 1993, and
was Remanded to the RO for additional development of the medical
evidence of record, to include a current VA examination by
appropriate specialists to determine the severity of the
disorders at issue and to obtain an opinion as to any etiological
or causal relationship between the veteran's service-connected
varicose veins of the left leg and any back or knee disorder
found to be present.

Upon return of the case to the Board, it was found that the
report of VA orthopedic examination in October 1993 did not
contain the requested opinion as to an etiological or causal
relationship between the service-connected varicose veins of the
left leg and the claimed back and left knee disorders.  Since the
veteran's appeal is predicated upon the assertion of a specific
causal relationship between the service-connected varicose veins
of the left leg and the claimed back and left knee disorders,
additional development of the evidence is warranted.

The Board further notes that, following the VA examination of
October 1993, a rating decision of January 1994 granted an
increased rating of 20 percent for the veteran's service-
connected varicose veins of the left leg.  That action did not
abrogate the veteran's appeal for an increased rating.  However,
in order to conserve RO and Board resources, the RO should ask
the veteran to state whether the increased evaluation for his
service-connected varicose veins of the left leg satisfies his
appeal with respect to this issue.

Based upon the foregoing, the case is again REMANDED to the RO
for the following:

1.  The RO should return the veteran's
claims file, including the report of VA
orthopedic examination in October 1993, to
the examining VA medical facility with a
request that the physician who conducted
the October 1993 orthopedic examination
review the medical evidence in the file in
its entirety.  Thereafter, he should again
be asked to express an opinion as to any
etiological or causal relationship between
the veteran's service-connected varicose
veins and any back or knee disorder found.

2.  Following completion of the foregoing,
the RO must review the claims file and
ensure that the requested development has
been completed in full prior to returning
the claims file to the Board.

Upon completion of the above requested actions, the case should
be reviewed by the RO.  If the veteran's claims remain denied, a
supplemental statement of the case should be issued and the
veteran and his representative should be afforded a reasonable
opportunity in which to respond.  Thereafter, the case, with the
additional evidence requested, should be returned to the Board
for further appellate review.

          J. U. JOHNSON
          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) (1993).