My little brother partially tore his ACL a few years ago. Because it was only a partial tear, and he was still growing, the doctors decided to wait until he was finished growing until they operated, and instead put him through lots of physical therapy. This was about 3-4 years ago. He is 17 now and the partial tear has not held him back at all once he completed rehab, and has not needed surgery at all. Of course.... if he was to re-injure it, there would prob be a ton of pain and immediate surgery...
I would definately get a second opinion from a very qualified orthapedic surgeon from philly, or some other urban area, before getting surgery.