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)
UW School of Medicine and Public Health Group on Women in Medicine and Science (GWIMS) Impact Award
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
Applying a Better Conversations Framework to Dialysis Decision-Making for Patients with Advanced CKD.
Schell JO, Schwarze ML, Arnold RM, Moss AH
J Am Soc Nephrol 2026 May 29;
[PubMed ID: 42213494]Operationalising 'what matters'-will we ever find a way to patient-centred care?
Schwarze M, Telma K, Taylor LJ
BMJ Qual Saf 2026 May 21;
[PubMed ID: 42167922]The ICU Care Plan: Human-Centered Design of a Tool to Support Time-Limited Trials for Older Adults With Critical Illness.
Mortenson SM, McCartney JM, Moy JX, Palmer GM, Goldberg JH, Solomon DB, Polley M, Grover N, Schwarze ML, Campbell TC, Holl JL, Esmond SL, Kruser JM
J Am Geriatr Soc 2025 Dec; 73(12): 3747-3756
[PubMed ID: 41081376]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 Nov 01; 160(11): 1250-1259
[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 Nov; 82(11): 103689
[PubMed ID: 40987233]