Background We reviewed the outcomes of reoperations for 29 patients (30 limbs) who had undergone occluded arterial bypass in the lower limbs from May 1996 to September 2005. Methods The 30 lower limbs of the 29 patients with arteriosclerotic obstruction received 44 reoperations, including thrombectomy alone (group T, 27) and inflow or outflow reconstruction plus thrombectomy (group C, 17). Among the 17 operations in group C, 17.6% (3/17) were inflow reconstructions involving the axillary-femoral (1), aorta-iliac (1) and aorta-femoral (1) arteries, and 76.4% (13/17) outflow reconstructions involving the femoral-popliteal bypass-tibial (8), femoral-tibial (1), femoral-popliteal bypass-popliteal arteries below the knee (2), and the femoral-popliteal bypass-tibial-peroneal trunk (2). One patient (1 limb) underwent both inflow and outflow reconstructions with an iliac arterial stent and a graft-popliteal anastomosis patch. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts were used in the inflow or outflow reconstructions abve the knee. Autovenous grafts or autovenously combined PTFE grafts were used in the outflow reconstructions below the knee. Results The percentages of Fontaine stage III and IV before primary operation and reoperation were 60% (18/30) and 86.7% (26/30), respectively (P0.05). Among 42 reoperations, 19 failed within 1 month in groups T (16) and C (3) (P0.05). The rate of limb salvage was 64.29% (18/28). Conclusions The percentages of Fontaine stage III and IV before reoperation may be much higher than those before primary operation. Thrombectomy plus inflow/outflow reconstruction creates patency better than thrombectomy alone for re-occluded bypass.