What's the recovery period from acl reconstruction surgery? what are the tradeoffs in getting that surgery vs living with torn acl?

Varies: It varies a little based upon the the patient and also the surgical technique used. Most people are doing fairly well by about two weeks with an approximate 8-12 weeks to return to unrestricted activities. The decision to do an acl is based in large part on the activity level of the person (low demand vs high demand) and also how much instability clinically the patient has. Thank you.

6-9 months: Most acl patients are able to return to their sport around 6-9 months. Some collision athletes(football, hockey, etc ) say their knee feels 100% @ 1 year. Of course, age, activity returning to, graft choice for acl surgery, motivation and other factors are involved... Many middle- aged patients (30-50)may choose to strengthen their muscles and or brace their acl- deficient knee... Big topic.

6 months.: Our protocol calls for 6 months of physical therapy, after surgery, before being released to all sports. At your age, if you live with a torn ACL, you're running the risk of your knee "giving out" on you, then causing more damage within the knee.