Squats and deadlifts after knee surgery?

I would avoid squats with a bar.
Start out with free standing 'air' squats without weight, do 3 sets of 30 or so.  Progress into dumbbells.  Lunges are also a good after you're comfortable with free squats first without weight then with dumbbells, make sure you watch your back leg and keep an eye on your form. 
I would go into a leg sled when you feel comfortable.  I am not a big fan of squats with a bar - it has more to do with the neck, shoulders, form than anything though.  I have very long femurs though so it's very hard for me to do a form correct squat.
I think deadlifts are fine but I'd start out light.  Balance between quads and hammy's is important, it's easy to over train quads.

I had ACL and meniscus repair.

Squats were actually part of my PT regimen (On a slide with increasing angle, not barbell).

If you are anal-retentive about technique and low weight, you should be able to start building up to higher weights about 9-12 months out.

These are "closed chain" leg exercises = the foot is planted.

Closed chain are good for ACL, open chain (foot not planted, leg extensions-kicking, etc...) should be avoided like the plague until you are fully 100% -- even then used sparingly and with control.

p.s. I noticed that you said under a years ago, but how was your PT?

I did 6 months of aggressive - did everything I was supposed to -- and then some...
My times are based off of that.

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll start out light with the deadlifts and either no weight or really light weight on the squats and go from there.



Structured PT was unfortunately lacking. I had to move part way through PT and was not seeing anyone for about a month before getting on another program and a little under 6 months after surgery ended up deploying. I've been doing stuff on my own over here and my knee has been doing pretty well with it. Now that I actually have access to a gym and a place to run I'm just trying to force myself to take it slow and not rush in to things.

Agree with eabeam.  I had my knee scoped and was lifting to try to get the strength back within about 5 months.  Understand about getting into PT and then getting deployed too. 

Deployments and moving always throw-off whatever routine you're in. 

The leg lifts will hurt like hell the first few times, but then you get your muscles used to working again. 

Take it slow, but don't baby your legs.  They're the biggest muscles in your body and have carried you since you were a few months old.  They can take some stress.

A lot of these tips were given me by my Ortho Surgeon, who was also the team Ortho for the Baltimore Ravens.  So he knows his stuff.

Oh, and squats with a bar are alright as long as you use good form and don't get too crazy on the weight.  Smith Machine is the best protection for your squat technique.