An orthopaedic implant knee brace and surgical method for minimally invasive insertion of the orthopaedic implant knee hinge. The apparatus and method stabilizes the knee in patients after conventional fixation of distal femur and/or proximal tibia fractures. The orthopaedic implant knee brace allows the body weight of the patient to be offloaded from the knee joint to allow for weight bearing on the leg within days, rather than months, from the surgery.