The magnets pass through and exit naturally, leaving behind a healed junction.
En Bogotá, un cirujano unió tejidos digestivos con imanes en lugar de suturas o grapas, realizando por primera vez en Colombia una anastomosis gastrointestinal magnética. Este procedimiento, en el que el propio cuerpo sella la conexión a lo largo de siete días antes de expulsar los imanes de forma natural, representa una reorientación silenciosa pero profunda de la cirugía bariátrica: en vez de imponer materiales extraños al organismo, la técnica confía en la biología del paciente. Colombia se suma así a un pequeño grupo de naciones que exploran cómo la precisión magnética puede reducir el sufrimiento quirúrgico y acelerar el retorno a la vida cotidiana.
- Cerca del 30 % de los pacientes bariátricos necesitan una segunda intervención tras la manga gástrica, y las técnicas convencionales implican riesgos de fístulas y filtraciones que esta tecnología busca eliminar.
- El procedimiento exige una coreografía inusual: el paciente traga el primer imán horas antes de entrar al quirófano, y el cirujano coloca el segundo por endoscopía hasta que la fuerza magnética une ambos tejidos.
- La operación dura menos que los métodos tradicionales y permite el alta el mismo día, aliviando tanto la carga física del paciente como el costo económico de una hospitalización prolongada.
- Con apenas un centenar de casos exitosos en el mundo, Colombia se convierte en uno de los primeros países latinoamericanos en adoptar esta técnica, posicionando a la Clínica del Country como referente regional de innovación quirúrgica.
- La tecnología ya se aplica también en cirugía oncológica digestiva y colorrectal, lo que sugiere que su impacto podría extenderse mucho más allá de la medicina bariátrica.
Un cirujano de la Clínica del Country en Bogotá realizó recientemente algo inédito en Colombia: unir tejido digestivo con imanes en lugar de grapas o suturas. El procedimiento, conocido como anastomosis gastrointestinal magnética, supone un cambio discreto pero significativo en la cirugía bariátrica y digestiva.
El mecanismo es de una elegancia casi paradójica. Horas antes de la operación, el paciente ingiere un primer imán. Durante la cirugía, el médico introduce un segundo imán mediante endoscopía. La atracción magnética acerca las paredes del tejido, y el propio proceso de cicatrización del cuerpo sella la unión a lo largo de siete días. Luego, los imanes se expulsan de forma natural, dejando atrás una conexión estable y sin materiales permanentes.
El Dr. César Ernesto Guevara Pérez, responsable del procedimiento, subrayó que la técnica aprovecha la biología del paciente en lugar de contrariarla, reduciendo así el riesgo de filtraciones y fístulas, dos de las complicaciones más graves de la cirugía digestiva convencional. La intervención es especialmente valiosa para quienes ya se sometieron a una manga gástrica y requieren un segundo paso quirúrgico —situación que afecta a cerca del 30 % de los pacientes bariátricos.
Entre sus ventajas prácticas destaca la velocidad: la operación es más breve que las técnicas tradicionales y permite el alta el mismo día, con recuperación en casa. Esto reduce tanto el impacto físico como el costo económico de la cirugía. Además, la tecnología no se limita a la pérdida de peso: también se emplea en procedimientos oncológicos digestivos y colorrectales.
Con alrededor de cien casos exitosos en el mundo, Colombia se incorpora a un grupo muy selecto de países que han adoptado esta técnica. La Clínica del Country, con más de seis décadas de trayectoria, ve en esta adopción una señal de su capacidad para ofrecer a los pacientes colombianos alternativas a la altura de los centros médicos más avanzados del planeta.
A surgeon at Clínica del Country in Bogotá recently performed something that had never been done before in Colombia: he used magnets instead of staples or stitches to join tissue inside a patient's digestive tract. The procedure is called magnetic gastrointestinal anastomosis, and it represents a quiet but significant shift in how bariatric surgeons are approaching weight-loss operations and related digestive procedures.
The technology works in a deceptively simple way. A few hours before surgery, the patient swallows the first magnet orally. Then, during the operation under general anesthesia, a surgeon uses an endoscope to place a second magnet. The two magnets find each other through magnetic force and pull the tissue walls together. Over approximately seven days, the body's natural healing process seals the connection. The magnets then pass through the digestive system and exit the body on their own, leaving behind a stable, healed junction.
Dr. César Ernesto Guevara Pérez, who performed the procedure, explained that the innovation leverages the body's own biology rather than fighting against it. By relying on the tissue's natural scarring process, the technique creates a secure seal without the complications that can arise from traditional sutures or surgical staples. The approach reduces the risk of leaks and fistulas—two of the more serious complications that can follow digestive surgery.
The procedure is particularly valuable for patients who have already undergone gastric sleeve surgery and need additional intervention to continue their weight loss and metabolic improvement. According to the clinic, about 30 percent of bariatric patients find themselves in this situation, needing a second surgical step to consolidate their health gains. Magnetic anastomosis offers them an option that is less invasive than traditional approaches and allows for faster recovery.
One of the most striking practical benefits is speed. The operation itself takes less time than conventional techniques, and patients can go home the same day. They recover at home rather than in a hospital bed, which reduces both the physical and financial burden of surgery. The clinic emphasized that this outpatient model represents a meaningful shift in how bariatric care can be delivered.
The technology is not limited to weight-loss surgery. Surgeons are also using magnetic anastomosis in cancer-related digestive procedures and colorectal surgery, suggesting its potential extends across multiple surgical specialties. Globally, approximately 100 successful cases have been performed, making this still a rare and cutting-edge application. Colombia's first procedure places the country among a small group of nations adopting the technique.
Clínica del Country, which has spent more than 60 years building expertise in complex medical care, framed this adoption as part of a broader commitment to positioning itself as a center of surgical innovation. The hospital sees magnetic anastomosis not merely as a new tool, but as evidence of its ability to offer patients alternatives that match what is available at the world's most advanced medical centers. For patients considering bariatric or digestive surgery, the arrival of this technology in Colombia means access to a procedure that is gentler on the body and faster to recover from—a meaningful expansion of what is possible.
Notable Quotes
This is a surgical medical technology innovation entering the entire world. The technology is based on the magnetic force of two structures that achieve perfect tissue union without the need for sutures or staples.— Dr. César Ernesto Guevara Pérez, bariatric surgeon at Clínica del Country
We leverage the body's physiology and the remarkable tissue healing process. In approximately seven days, a stable and hermetic seal is achieved, allowing the magnets to follow their natural course and be expelled from the body completely naturally.— Dr. Guevara Pérez
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that the magnets are expelled naturally after a week? Why not leave them in place?
Because anything permanent inside the body carries risk—infection, migration, the need for eventual removal. By using the magnets only as a temporary scaffold while tissue heals, you get the benefit of their precision without the burden of a foreign object living in someone's abdomen for life.
So the patient swallows one magnet like a pill. How do they know it's actually there and in the right place?
They don't, really—not until the surgeon places the second magnet during the operation and the two find each other. It's an elegant design because it relies on the magnets' own force to do the work of alignment. The surgeon doesn't have to thread anything or tie anything. The physics does it.
What was the problem with staples and stitches that this solves?
Leaks and fistulas—holes that can form where the tissue connection isn't perfect. With staples, you're creating a mechanical seal that depends on the metal holding everything together. With magnets, you're letting the body's own healing process do the sealing. It's a different philosophy entirely.
Why is this especially important for people who've already had gastric sleeve surgery?
Because they're often stuck. The first surgery helped them lose weight, but they plateau. A second surgery can help them continue, but it's riskier and harder to recover from. Magnetic anastomosis makes that second step less traumatic and faster to bounce back from.
If only 100 cases exist globally, how confident should patients be that this is safe?
Safe enough that surgeons in multiple countries are using it, and the clinic is willing to stake its reputation on it. But you're right to notice it's still rare. This is the frontier of surgical technique—proven in principle, but not yet routine.