A new form of bariatric surgery using magnets instead of staples is now being offered in Northeast Ohio, and doctors say it could make weight-loss surgery safer and less invasive for some patients.
The procedure, known as magnetic compression anastomosis, has been offered in other areas for several years, and now surgeons at Akron’s Summa Health System are performing it. The method creates a new connection between two sections of the small intestine without cutting or stapling the bowel.
Instead, the body forms the connection naturally over several weeks. One magnet is swallowed by the patient, and the other is placed using an endoscope. The magnets then attract each other and compress the tissue between them until a new passageway forms, said Dr. Adrian Dan, medical director of Summa’s Weight Management Institute…