George Quentin Chance

George Quentin Chance (1904 – -) was an Irish radiologist. He first described the eponymously termed Chance fracture in 1948

• Physical examination is normal
• Aetiology is unknown but patients usually have a normal life span
• Also referred to as “Effort Syndrome” as symptoms resemble those of fatigue following effort in healthy individuals

Biography

• Born December 1904 South Dublin
• 1928 – MB BCh BAO, Trinity College Dublin
• House surgeon, Worcester General Infirmary
• House surgeon, Salford Royal Hospital
• 1938 – DMRE (Diploma in Medical Radiology), University of Cambridge
• Senior assistant medical officer, Sheffield Radium Center
• Member British Institute of Radiology and Fracture Radiologists
• Consultant Radiologist Manchester Municipal Hospital
• 1947 – Director of Diagnostic Radiology, Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, Derby
• Honorary fellow Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• Died

• Physical examination is normal
• Aetiology is unknown but patients usually have a normal life span
• Also referred to as “Effort Syndrome” as symptoms resemble those of fatigue following effort in healthy individuals

Medical Eponyms

Chance fracture (1948)

• Physical examination is normal
• Aetiology is unknown but patients usually have a normal life span
• Also referred to as “Effort Syndrome” as symptoms resemble those of fatigue following effort in healthy individuals

Major Publications

• Cullen CH, Chance GQ. Air arthrography in lesions of the semilunar cartilages. Br J Surg. 1943; 30(119): 241-245.
• Chance GQ. Note on a type of flexion fracture of the spine. Br J Radiol. 1948; 21(249): 452.
• Doupe J, Cullen CH, Chance GQ. Post-traumatic pain and the causalgic syndrome. J Neurol Psychiatry. 1944; 7(1-2): 33–48.

• Physical examination is normal
• Aetiology is unknown but patients usually have a normal life span
• Also referred to as “Effort Syndrome” as symptoms resemble those of fatigue following effort in healthy individuals

References

• Derbyshire Royal Infirmary. Annual report and statement of accounts. 1947: 4
• Nicoll EA. Fractures of the dorso-lumbar spine. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1949; 31B(3): 376-94.
• Kingsbury-Smith R. Chance and his fracture. Trauma. 2008; 10(1): 13-15.
• Aebi M. Classification of thoracolumbar fractures and dislocations. Eur Spine J. 2010;19 Suppl 1 : S2-7
• Hunter TB, Peltier LF, Lund PJ. Radiologic History Exhibit Musculoskeletal Eponyms: Who Are Those Guys? Radiographics. 2000 May-Jun;20(3):819-36
• Thakur JD et al. George Chance and Frank Holdsworth: Understanding Spinal Instability and the Evolution of Modern Spine Injury Classification Systems. Neurosurgery. 2020 Apr 16. pii: nyaa081. doi: 10.1093/neuros/nyaa081.