I have had three....two on the left one on the right....they help..but you will never be back to what you were....and you probably will need another one every 10 years or so...until you have nothing left ..then a Knee replacement is next...that is in my future...go to a pro...the first day is great ..you are full of painkillers....the second day it kills you...then tapers off over the first week...after that you slowly get back to say 85%...you will never reach 100% again...I am an old hockey player..runner..bicycler..hiker..skier..first one at 32...last one at 52.....
I guess everyone is different. My brother has always been active. He also has a high threshold for pain; so if he was having problems now, I would never hear about it. Now that he’s retired, he’s never home during the winter months. Always skiing. I think he has skied off every hill and mountain in the world.
You’re right about having a pro do the work. My brother’s surgeon was (or maybe still is?) the surgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh sports teams. He probably could do this surgery in his sleep.