I had a four-point scope (they made four little incisions and went in at each point to do repairs) 6 years ago on one knee to remove a bunch of torn meniscus, and it has been a life-saver. I let it go way to long before I did anything about it as well, and it was a big mistake - I ended up with a popliteal fluid-filled cyst in the back of that knee from the fluid building up and not having anywhere to go but back through the center of the knee and collecting there (it was the size of an orange - not good). After having a double-procedure to take care of both of those conditions, I came out the other side unbelievably great. I think it took about two months to be able to move around semi-normally again in athletic situations (playing basketball, tennis, etc.), but I know people that have been back at their semi-active status in 4 weeks.
I still feel great. Overuse is always an issue, but cycling a lot before each season helps get/keep my leg muscles in pretty good shape, which takes some of the stress off of my knees.
Short version = I'm a success story for reparing torn meniscus.
Best of luck.
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