# Kraków University Hospital performs Poland's first magnetic duodenoileostomy in two patients with obesity

- Published: 2026-11-14 00:13 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: magnetic duodenoileostomy, MagDI, bariatric surgery in Poland, GT Metabolic, sleeve gastrectomy, magnetic anastomosis, Michel Gagner, University Hospital in Kraków, obesity surgery
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-12b05ce3abb62008159d9d5f_krak_w_university/

**Surgeons combined sleeve gastrectomy with magnetic anastomosis using GT Metabolic implants instead of sutures or staplers. Both patients have been discharged home.**

![Kraków University Hospital performs Poland's first magnetic duodenoileostomy in two patients with obesity](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/5eb69d56c8753f7b.avif)
*portal.abczdrowie.pl*

Surgeons at the University Hospital in Kraków performed the first bariatric procedures in Poland that use a magnetic technology to join sections of the digestive tract, according to portal.abczdrowie.pl. The operations were carried out in two patients with obesity, and both were discharged home in good condition [1].

In both cases the surgeons combined sleeve gastrectomy with magnetic duodenoileostomy (MagDI, Magnetic Duodenoileostomy) [1]. Instead of traditional sutures or mechanical staplers, they joined two segments of intestine with magnetic implants developed by GT Metabolic [1].

## How the magnetic anastomosis works

Each magnet is about the size of a grape and is placed in the appropriate segments of the digestive system. The magnets attract each other through the intestinal walls, and controlled pressure maintained for 2–3 weeks leads to a permanent biological anastomosis [1]. After a sealed connection has formed, the magnets detach on their own and are passed naturally and painlessly with stool [1].

According to the report, the method reduces the risk of leaks and bleeding, which can be serious complications of conventional suturing. Diverting part of the digested food from the upper to the distal small intestine triggers a hormonal cascade and the release of gut hormones (incretins), which suppress appetite, normalize blood glucose and change the patient's metabolism [1].

MagDI is considered mainly for adults who have severe obesity, who have type 2 diabetes that is hard to control with drugs, who seek a less invasive alternative to gastric bypass, or who previously had sleeve gastrectomy but regained weight or have recurrent reflux [1].

## Author of the method and use worldwide

The main originator, researcher and promoter of MagDI is Prof. Michel Gagner, a Canadian surgeon at the Westmount Square Surgical Center in Montreal and the inventor of sleeve gastrectomy, now widely used. He personally supervised the operations in Kraków [1]. In a statement published on newswire.ca, Gagner said he was the first person to swallow these magnets and follow their passage through the digestive tract on X-ray images, and that this experience shaped the design of the whole procedure [1].

The magnetic procedure has so far been performed in more than 500 patients worldwide, including in North America, Europe, the Middle East, South America and Australia [1]. The technology has recently been approved by Health Canada and introduced at centers in the USA, including Mather Hospital in New York [1].

Gagner described the history of tissue joining as sutures first, then mechanical staplers, and now magnetic technologies [1].

## Sources

1. [portal.abczdrowie.pl](https://portal.abczdrowie.pl/pionierska-operacja-nadzieja-dla-pacjentow-z-otyloscia/7350489253226528a)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-12b05ce3abb62008159d9d5f_krak_w_university/