My right knee is hamburger at the moment and I've been putting off having it looked at. It aches all the time and pops like crazy, but I don't feel like having another surgery. I've already had a bunch of cartilage removed from that knee a long time ago.

My (Irish) doctor showed up cranky and glassy eyed that day and the the machine that's supposed to pump fluid through my knee during surgery to wash away the clipped out cartilage broke down. He had me lay on my side while he poured saline thru my open knee to wash away the cartilage remnants. I only know about this because I refused general anesthesia and was awake for the whole surgery. It sounds like I just need a big clean-up surgery now.

Then, a few years later, my left knee had a blown out ACL, and the surgery that time went amazingly well. I now think of it as my "good" knee. I also had 50% of the cartilage removed at that time and should be bone-on-bone at this point, but it feels great 10 years later. Basically, they take the center part of the tendon over your knee-cap and cut it out and turn it into a new ACL that they screw in place inside your knee. Then you spend 2-3 days in bed with a machine that keeps your knee constantly bending back and forth, day and night. Then you're in rehab for 2-3 weeks. If all goes well, your new ACL is stronger than your old one. Even being a diabetic alcoholic, I was told that I healed faster than anyone they've ever worked on besides a professional athlete. Go figure.