Recovery from the initial knee surgery was 4 months. This was 1976; they do that surgery differently now, and it’s much quicker.
Following pin removal a year later, recovery time was pretty short, maybe a couple of weeks. I wasn’t laid up for more than a day or two. I remember sitting in the hospital bed hand-sewing a Halloween costume that I wore to a party the following weekend. (A nurse did say you’re not going anywhere next weekend, and I said yes I am.)
I wore an Ace bandage for a few weeks, for stability and support, but could take it off to bathe—the keeping-dry part lasted just a few days. I think I used crutches for just a brief while.