ankle sprain... still pain one year later... is surgery a good idea?

by tom
(los angeles)

A year ago I sprained my ankle and it didn't seem very serious at first... I could walk on it but there was some swelling...
unfortunately i didn't get any immediate treatment for it...
I just but laid off of running and biking for several weeks...
when the pain didn't go away i finally saw a doctor who
examined my foot and moved it around...
he said physical therapy might have helped at the outset,
can't be sure, but he said i have an unstable ankle and
if it's painful enough to bother me, i should consider surgery...
he says it's a fairly simple one...

what i'm wondering is... what is the success rate of this
type of surgery for returning to pain-free running and
other sports... what are the risks... could it make the
ankle WORSE in any way (and i don't mean if the surgeon
does a poor job...i guess i just mean chronic feelings of
stiffness, tightness, tingling or whatnot)

I can jog now, but it's a little painful and sometimes the
ankle hurts when I'm not doing anything... I just want to
do what will cause the least pain in the long run...

i don't really have experience with surgery so i'm kind of
flying blind on considering it...