I am an active 46 year old male who was recently (September) diagnosed with a 1 cm defect in lateral trochlear groove of right knee. I can walk ok but have some trouble with stairs and can no longer run. The surgeon I saw back in September suggested I take it easy for 6 to 8 weeks and see if it would get better but come back if it does not to talk about treatment options. I have done research on microfracture and ACI and both depress me due to long recovery period and chance of failure.  I have learned about the arthrosurface treatment and it seems superior but is it for real in terms of being effective and having shorter recovery period of the alternatives? Would a surgeon go straight to the arthrosuface system rather than do microfracture?  The company markets the product as being for people in my age range (too old for microfracture and too young for total replacement). I hear that some believe micro should be done first and arthrosurface done only if it fails. But isn't it better to minimize the number of surgeries you have?