Margaret "Gretchen" Schwarze, MD, MPP, FACS
Professor
- Division of Vascular Surgery
- Morgridge Professor in Vascular Surgery
schwarze@surgery.wisc.edu
(608) 265-4420
600 Highland Ave
Madison, WI 53792-3284
Education
- MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- MPP, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA
- Residency in Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
- Research Fellowship, Transplantation Biology Research Center, Boston, MA
- Fellowship in Vascular Surgery, University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago, IL
- Fellowship in Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago, IL
Honors
Madison Magazine Top Docs 2016 Award Surgery, Vascular
Avant-Garde Health Vascular Surgery Research All-Stars (2024)
Clinical Specialties
Dr. Schwarze specializes in vascular and endovascular surgery. She is board certified in both general surgery and vascular surgery.
Dr. Schwarze provides a wide range of services including Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Repair – Endovascular, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Repair – Open, Amputation, Angioplasty With Stent Placement, Carotid Endartecotomy, Carotid Stenting, Extended Efforts in Limb Salvage, Peripheral Artery Bypass, Varicose Vein Treatment.
Research Interests
Dr. Schwarze is a board-certified vascular surgeon and medical ethicist. She is a nationally recognized expert in surgical decision making, informed consent, advance directives and end-of-life care.
Her research focuses on improving communication between older patients and their surgeons so that patients can avoid unwanted treatment and make decisions that align with their values, preferences and goals.
The Patient Preferences Project
Dr. Schwarze was recently awarded a three-year, $600,000 Collaborative Health Sciences Program grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program. Read more here.
Dr. Schwarze was recently awarded a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. Read more here.
Recent Publications
Best Case/Worst Case Communication Tool for Trauma Intensive Care Units.
Fritz ML, Hernandez AH, Zelenski AB, Nitkowski J, Sobol C, Kwekkeboom K, Bradley T, Tsang J, Bushaw K, Dudek A, Stalter L, Schwarze ML
JAMA Surg 2025 Sep 24;
[PubMed ID: 40991261]How I Do It: Avoiding the Cognitive Trap Fundamentals of Surgery Curriculum.
Kopecky KE, Kapadia MR, Sobol C, Schwarze ML
J Surg Educ 2025 Sep 22; 82(11): 103689
[PubMed ID: 40987233]Clinical Momentum: An Observational Study Identifying Latent Forces Driving Surgical Interventions for Older Adults Near the End of Life.
Fritz ML, Jaeb MA, Zaza SI, Dudek A, Kwekkeboom KL, Buffington A, Gober LM, Schwarze ML
Ann Surg 2025 Sep 10;
[PubMed ID: 40928090]Ethical considerations and the role of shared decision making in the vascular care of older adults.
Sobol CG, Praska C, Schwarze ML
Semin Vasc Surg 2025 Sep; 38(3): 332-338
[PubMed ID: 40921560]Innovations in Surgical Communication 5-When Surgery Is a Bad Idea, Focus on the Goals.
Schwarze ML, Taylor LJ, Arnold RM, Littell RD
JAMA Surg 2025 Jul 01; 160(7): 719-720
[PubMed ID: 40332923]