Plica

Hello! I am 26 years old, and have two children under five. I used to be very active. My story is long, so I'll try to be brief. About nine months ago I began having a burning pain on the inside of my knees (I have pain in both knees). I went to my physician and he told me it was runners knee. He gave some exercises to do and said I needed cortisone shots. The shots hurt sooo much! I had awful swelling from the shots and NO relief from the pain. I then began to see an orthopedic. The specialist told me I have a tracking problem. He sent me for physical therapy and gave me J hook knee braces (the braces weren't much help, and they never did fit right). After a month of PT I felt better, but the pain never quite went away. I was told I would need surgery. I wasn't quite convinced, so I began my journey to find another orthopedic. I finally found another doctor, and had MRI's. This doctor told me I have plica in both my knees. His course of treatment was cortisone shots, PT (as well as anti-inflammatory during PT), Viox, and taping. I have completed 3 weeks of this treatment. I do feel a lot better, but the pain hasn't gone away completely. The doctor told me that if the pain doesn't go away, then the plica would need to be removed. I guess I'm trying to find out if anyone has had plica removed and what their experience was. I'm afraid of knee surgery. I'm scared that I'll have new issues to deal with from the surgery, but I'm mostly afraid that the pain won't really go away. I want my life back so much! I just don't know what to do at this point! I hope someone can help!