Im 22 yrs old and had a meniscal tear last february while snowboarding. The tear was bad enough that part of my lateral (outer) meniscus came out of place so they trimmed the rest of it off to make it smooth. I still have my medial meniscus and had the surgery done last June. so 4 months i walked on a meniscal tear without even knowing I have the tear until a month after the incident. I got the surgery done with Dr. Elliot Hershman (office in Manhattan) who is the NY Jets orthopedic surgeon so hes pretty choshuv and knows what hes doing. A lot of Jews go to him for orthopedic surgery and hes Jewish too, not frum though. I will say I got 2 insurances so B''h the bill was not high but its a $12,000 surgery otherwise. He was very good from the start. Saw him and 2 other doctors before surgery and i felt most comfortable with him. the surgery was 45 min and i was walking the same day with a cast that i took off after two days. I used a cane for a few days just not to put pressure on the knee. Went to rehab for 8 weeks 2 times a week. was feeling a lot better already after a month and now , 7 months later and i already went snowboarding twice. will be going this Sunday too !! i wear a small brace to give extra support to the right knee. I will just say your knee is priceless and if ur still young like me and want to keep young physically, then triple check your options like i did. I am very pleased. I hope i was of any help