Osteoarthritis-Chondromalacia

Hi, I have been diagnosed (so far) with osteoarthritis, chondromalacia and patellar misalignment (lateral) in both knees and torn meniscus in the left knee. I am going in for an MRI on my right knee in two weeks, so there may be more news there - I assume torn meniscus as well. I live in Germany now and of course get everything explained to me in German and I am not quite up to date on all the knee terminology so thanks for you patience. From what they have mentioned so far (I should get a detailed explanation of the planned procedure after the MRI) they need to realign the patella/reset the axis of the knees, clean up the torn meniscus, shave the tibia/ femur (spurs that have grown to compensate for the lack of cartilage in the joint) and some kind of cartilage regeneration attempt. They are suggesting arthroscopic surgery first followed by the major surgery (patellar realignment). They have told me I have the knees of an 80 year-old because the chondromalacia is severe. At 45 they say I am too young for joint replacement. I am trying to gather all the info/ suggestions I can before finally deciding what I should do. I would appreciate any suggestions as to new methods that are worth looking into or what I should be aware of before saying yes to the operations they propose. Many thanks!!