Femoral Bypass Surgery as a result from truama from hand grenade?

I was wounded 4months ago by a hand grenade in Iraq and had to recieve a femoral bypass surgery on my left leg, by using a donor vein from my right. What are the chances that this "new artery" will fail one day, or what alternate risks do I now face since there was so much reconstruction in my leg? Even though I have good "petal pulse" in my left foot and the circulation seems to be excellent. I am 22 yrs old with an extremely healthy body, but I do use smokeless tobacco.

First off, sorry you are having to ask this question in the first place. Second, and most important, thank you very much for the job you did for our country. My Dad is retired LtCol Marine. ;-)

Key facts in your question that are huge plus in your favor.
1) Your age and general health
2) Good pedal pulse in L foot ( 'excellent' circulation )

Since your surgery was done because of trauma, your chances for failure of the artery probably mostly depend on you. Your arteries should be mostly healthy considering your young age. By that I mean that they should not be clogged with fat and cholesterol type stuff yet. This will be your big concern in the future tho. The L leg should readily accept the transplanted/grafted artery since it is yours. That is why they prefer to take an artery from somewhere in your own body so there is no rejection like with an organ donation. The artery will 'heal' and seal itself and should be fine.

Depending on the rest of the damage to your L leg will determine what else has to be done...medically I mean as far as skin grafts and so on. I am sure the doc either have talked to you about this or will. I am also sure that you know you don't just jump right back up from this kind of injury. But I will again stress you have your age and basic health on your side. And believe it or not, the fact that you are in the military is to your advantage in one big way. They are better suited to dealing with these types of blast trauma than most civilian hospitals are.

Become educated on how to keep your arteries from getting clogged up with cholesterol the best you can. Stay healthy and active. Learn how to avoid DVTs (Deep Vein Thrombosis) which you might be more prone to on long flights. Talk over these concerns with your doc. They can give you any other that I might have missed. I really don't think you have much to worry about in the foreseeable future.

Take care of yourself. See the source websites I'll list for more info. (Just some bedtime reading) ;-)

Thanks again!!