Knee Ligament/Meniscus injures

[manku91]

RIGHT KNEE PROBLEMS:-
I have undergone ACL reconstruction surgery of right knee on 21st May,2010. Even after my surgery I feel pain when I bend my knee or when I walk. The pain is distributed over the entire crossection of the knee. But recently on 12th feb,2012 my right knee has started paining again. I am not able to walk. Even if I try to walk, I feel instability. My leg becomes stiff when I keep it straight for around 30 min. & when I try to bend it feel some sounds coming out of my knee + feeling of crushing. My MRI shows the following symptoms:-
MR IMAGING REVEALS SMALL JOINT EFFUSION WITH EARLY PATELLO-FEMORAL AND TIBIO-FEMORAL COMPARTMENT OSTEO-ARTHRITIS WITH GRADE 2 MYXOID DEGENERATION POSTERIOR HORN MEDIAL MENISCUS AND GGRADE 1 STRAIN MEDIAL COLLATERAL LIGAMENT.
RECONSTRUCTED ACL(last year in may,2010) IS NORMAL IN SIGNAL INTENSITY.
But I feel considerable joint instability & according to doctor I have MCL laxity(probably grade-2 tear)
Also it pains while I am sitting on the bed OR when I tilt my leg sideways. I have already taken rest for about one month for MCL to heal but there is no major improvement even now.
Should I go for surgery? What can be its consequences? Would it be succesful? What should be the doctor's profile for treatment of such injuries( like MCL specialists)? What should I do with my meniscus tear? What can be done for osteo-arthiritis?
Please help as I am only 20 yrs. old & don't want to spoil my entire life. Please suggest me a proper direction.

[Michael L Gross, MD]

In my practice, I prefer to look at the images themselves, rather than just the report. However, given your report, it doesnt sound like there is a surgical problem at this point. To be clear, grade 2 myxoid change in the medial meniscus is not a tear. A grade 1 MCL sprain will heal with bracing, and may in fact not even be of clinical significance. The probable source of your pain is the patella femoral changes, a common problem following ACL surgery.  This usually resolves with NSAIDs and PT. Visco-supplementation has also shown promising results here.

[manku91]

Sir I feel pain around the periphery of my knee cap. Whenever I keep my legs straight in relaxed position, they automatically tilt outwards(sideways) which increases the pain.
When I do knee pressing exercises then it pains very-2 much in the front below portion of the knee.
According to me, I am not able to bend my knee due to these problems.
Could you guide me about osteo-arthiritis i.e. what is the level of injury to my knee??
Thank you