The Perse School
Cambridge, England
About Nicholas Maxwell, MD
A surgeon’s life shaped by curiosity, judgment, and humanity.
Nicholas Maxwell is a general, vascular, and minimally invasive surgeon whose writing takes readers beyond the operating-room doors.
Surgeon & author
Thirty-six years of surgical practice. Two books of unforgettable stories.
Dr. Maxwell trained in Montreal and Detroit before beginning his surgical practice at The Monroe Clinic in Monroe, Wisconsin.
His first memoir, Life in the Pits: A Surgeon’s Awakening, recounts the intensity of his trauma-surgery training at Detroit Receiving Hospital. His second, Life on the Cutting Edge, reflects on the patients, complications, humor, and hard-earned lessons of a career in community surgery.
Across both medicine and writing, his focus remains the same: clear thinking, honest communication, and respect for the person behind every case.
Explore the booksEducation & professional timeline
A career built across five decades.
Bachelor of Science, Human Genetics
McGill University · Montreal, Quebec
McGill University
MDCM · McIntyre Medical Sciences Building · Montreal, Quebec
Wayne State University
Surgical residency · Detroit Medical Center
The Monroe Clinic
General, vascular, and minimally invasive surgery · Monroe, Wisconsin
Upland Hills Health
Surgical practice · Dodgeville, Wisconsin
Building photographs: McIntyre Medical Sciences Building — Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0; Detroit Receiving Hospital — Adoarns, CC BY-SA 3.0. Images cropped for display.
“We must be confident, yet not cocky. Efficient, yet not too fast. Organized, but never rigid. Cockiness kills. Yet on the flip side, we cannot be paralyzed by fear and insecurity.”
Nicholas Maxwell, MD