As someone who's had ACL reconstruction, I can tell you not getting the surgery can be worse for you long term. Why? because without the ACL your knee is not a

As someone who's had ACL reconstruction, I can tell you not getting the surgery can be worse for you long term. Why? because without the ACL your knee is not as stable. You're more likely to do more damage to the cartilage with an unstable knee. While I was waiting for my surgery (in Canada, took about 6 months), my knee was highly unstable and lead to multiple close calls. Of course, you need to make the surgery decision on a case by case basis. My knee was injured in such a way that I didn't suffer a large amount of meniscus damage, but definitely had the potential to wreck it if I didn't get the surgery.