Knee still not stable after ACL

Hi All

I have some big decisions to make over the next few weeks and while this may be a shot in the dark it is possible others have had similar situations as me and could provide some feedback.

I should start of by saying that I had surgery on my left knee in May of 2008 (Hamstring tendon). Prior to my surgery I had an MRI done on the right knee at the doctors request and it turns out that ACL is torn as well but never bothered me.

Post surgery I worked hard on physio and made a gradual return to sports after 7 months. Things we're mostly OK but every once and a while I felt the knee "slip" a bit. I wear a brace so it never caused a huge problem but I know I can never go without my brace, even post surgery. Over the last year things have gotten a bit worse and the slipping is happening more often and with less reason. Just the other day, while wearing the brace, I more or less just took a step to the side and it buckled slightly.

In addition to this I have had a few problems on my right, unrepaired knee, over the last year. It's mostly playing things like Ball Hockey but it too can give out. I still don't wear a brace but I guess it might have gotten to the point where I should now.

Anyway - on to my decisions. I just saw the Dr who did the first surgery and explained him my issues. He said that at my age (28) he would opt for more surgery as stopping sports isn't usually viable. He suggested we tackle the right one first and then look at redoing the left. He said he wasn't sure what is causing it to still be unstable (MRI confirmed repaired ligament is still in place) but offered that sometimes the new ligaments can over stretch and sometimes have to much "give". That being said, other people who had evaluated me have told me my joints, even those that I don't have issues with like my shoulders, are just looser than the average persons and that is probably not helping the situation.

So my question is - can I expect my 2nd surgery to go better than my first? I would hate to go through the procedure and the rehab only to feel like it isn't much better. I still have to be very careful with my repaired knee and I always keep it in mind during activity. Considering I am pretty much making a decision for 2 surgeries and not 1 this is an even bigger deal.

Anyone experience similar problems post surgery but have it correctly with a 2nd one?

Any answers/thoughts/support are appreciated. Thanks.