I would be worried about another injury if you're truly feeling instability. For example, could the ACL have been stretched and be functionally lax now (i.e., didn't tear but stretched so it's functionally no longer acting to stabilize the knee)? First and foremost, what is your exam like? Is your knee unstable to "valgus stress" (opening up of the inside of the knee, which the MCL helps stabilize)? How does the ACL seem on exam?
I did a quick Pubmed literature search, and one recent paper spoke of fixing isolated MCL injuries in professional football players because of a small subgroup that had persistent injury to the deep fibers where the ligament originates from the thigh bone (bear in mind that the standard clinical approach is not to fix an isolated MCL injury). But these professional athletes' symptom was persistent pain at the origin of the ligament, not instability like you, so this arguably may not apply to your case.
With persistent instability my worry would be an insufficient ACL or something of the like. The ACL is at an angle and is not always seen quite as clearly on MRI as the PCL, and I've heard it said that it can also be stretched but not torn (which makes it functionally not wok because it's like a loose rope). I would go back to your physical exam and even consider a second opinion (don't worry, surgeons are not offended by this) if this persists to get new thoughts on the matter. Best of luck.
Originally Posted by jm2e:
To be a JONG is no curse in these unfortunate times. 'Tis better that than to be alone.
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