Clive Duncan

PROFESSOR EMERITUS

Faculty:
Medicine

Department:
Orthopaedics

Hospital Site/Location:
Retired

Dr. Duncan is a Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, UBC.

He is a past Academic Head of the UBC Department of Orthopaedics and past Clinical Head of Orthopaedics at Vancouver Acute Health Services (Vancouver General and University Hospitals).

He was born and grew up in Ireland, completed his medical training in Dublin, and joined the UBC residency program in 1970. He signaled his interest in research by completing a Master’s degree (MSc Surgery) in those formative years and was awarded an annual Resident Prize for research four years in a row. His work was recognised with the J Edouard Samson Prize, a national award for research, in 1975.

The same year he was awarded a Samuel McLaughlin Postgraduate Fellowship to support advanced training in complex hip reconstruction and musculoskeletal oncology in Toronto (Allan Gross), Boston (William Harris) and Gainesville, Florida (William Enneking).

He returned to Vancouver in 1977 and began a career in education, research and patient care, which spanned 45 years. Dr. Duncan confined his practice to hip reconstruction after he established the Complex Joint Clinic at VGH in 1995 and averaged a surgical volume of 500 cases annually.

Dr. Duncan served as Director of Undergraduate Education, Director of Postgraduate Education (Residency Program), Section Head of Musculoskeletal Oncology, and Division Head of Reconstructive Orthopaedics (Hip & Knee).

He was appointed Head of the University and Hospital Departments of Orthopaedics in 1996.

He has received many Canadian awards in acknowledgement of his contributions: from the University of British Columbia; the BC Medical Association; the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, the Canadian Orthopaedic Association; and other organizations.

He was honoured to serve as President of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association in 2001/02.

Dr. Duncan was been widely recognized abroad through various awards:

• Sir John Charnley Commemorative Gold medal presented to him by Lady Charnley (Sir John’s widow) in 2009 after his Charnley Address to the British Orthopaedic Association
• William Harris Commemorative Medal after his Annual Harris Oration at a Harvard Symposium in 2010
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Hip Society in 2016

Over the years of his practice and leadership, a few things stand out:

• Introduction of limb sparing management of musculoskeletal malignancy in 1977
• Co-development of the bone bank and transplantation program at VGH in 1980 (since superseded) to facilitate limb salvage and complex joint reconstruction
• Development of important advances for the management of complications following joint replacement, which are now part of mainstream orthopaedic practice (such as the PROSTALAC technique; the Vancouver Classification; and the Unified Classification of periprosthetic fractures)
• Establishment of the internationally renowned UBC post graduate fellowship in hip and knee reconstruction
• Co-development of the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility (CHHM); a multidisciplinary research centre focused on the development of innovative solutions to enhance mobility and improve bone and joint health. This has since evolved into the Centre for Aging SMART.

The work of Dr. Duncan and his collaborators has attracted national and international attention. He has been a visiting professor and/or keynote speaker on close to 350 occasions around the world, has delivered over 650 guest lectures in 22 countries, and has published over 350 full length manuscripts as peer-reviewed papers, invited reviews or book chapters.

He is now retired, resides in West Vancouver, and is enjoying everything life has to offer with three generations of his family. To his great delight, they are all living in the Vancouver area.