Doing Squats, heard a LOUD pop, and I dropped!

Back in Nov. 2002, I was doing squats in the gym. As I begin to make my upward ascent, I heard a loud pop, my knee buckled in, and I collapsed to the floor.. My knee became swollen immediately. I went to the emergency room and had x-rays done, which didnt reveal anything. The ortho on duty said that I may have experienced a tear in my lateral meniscus and advised I stay off my feet and comeback in 4-6 weeks. After a month or so I begin to walk again and saw another ortho who told me my knee popped out of socket and to rehab it. It has now been 6-months, whenever I bend down, try to jog, etc. I have pain in the outer side of my knee which goes away as long as I dont do any bending, apply weight to it, etc. Would an MRI reveal any damage? If it is a meniscul tear, would surgery help, if I dont address it right away, am I causing further damage? Any comments/suggestions would be awesome! Thanks….