Michel Gagner - Master Surgeon Educator and innovator
In a career spanning decades, Professor Michel Gagner (Professor of Surgery in Montreal, Canada) has consistently pushed the boundaries of minimally invasive surgery. His lifelong dedication to surgical education was recently celebrated in Chicago, where he was inducted into the prestigious American College of Surgeons (ACS) Academy of Master Surgeon Educators.
Founded by Dr Ajit Sachdeva, this highly selective academy includes fewer than 250 surgeons out of 100,000 members worldwide, recognising those who have significantly shaped the training of residents, fellows, and practicing surgeons in advanced laparoscopic techniques.
For Gagner, his educational legacy is best reflected in the generations of surgeons he has mentored. He frequently notes the reward of attending international surgical congresses and meeting his "academic grandchildren".
"What I am most proud of is seeing ‘my fellows’ generate another generation of surgeons and educate their own residents and fellows," he reflected. “It is so great to see that."
However, instead of entering retirement, Gagner finds himself at the centre of a major technological shift as GT Metabolic Solutions’ magnetic compression anastomosis systems achieve landmark achievements. The momentum behind magnetic surgery was highly evident at the recent International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) meeting in Toronto, which featured a record 21 presentations focused on linear magnets, alongside the event's only broadcasted live surgery.
A primary driver of this excitement is a major regulatory milestone: the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted official approval for GT Metabolic’s 6cm and 7cm gastric magnets. While smaller versions were already cleared in the US and Europe, these larger iterations allow surgeons to perform complex, rapid bariatric revisions.
According to Gagner, these magnets will completely alter the landscape of revisional bariatric surgery. Traditional secondary operations—such as revising a sleeve gastrectomy or altering a primary gastric bypass—frequently require high-risk dissection through dense scar tissue. With the magnetic system, surgeons can seamlessly reverse a gastric bypass by placing one magnet in the pouch and another in the gastric remnant. The devices naturally self-align through the intestinal walls, compressing the tissue to form a perfect, secure side-to-side connection without the trauma of open dissection.
Concurrently, commercial expansion has officially launched in Europe following the attainment of the CE Mark. Dr Cătălin Copăescu in Bucharest, Romania, recently performed two landmark Magnetic Duodeno-Ileal Anastomosis (MAGD) cases combined with sleeve gastrectomies on high-BMI patients. These represented the very first commercial, non-clinical trial sales for the technology in Europe. Additional initial commercial cases are slated to begin immediately in Dublin, Ireland.
Colorectal surgery
Beyond bariatrics, GT Metabolic is on the verge of completing a multi-centre trial in Europe for colorectal applications, with data collection currently 90% complete and expected to conclude shortly. The data will subsequently be submitted to the FDA and European regulators to secure a CE Mark for linear colon magnets.
In traditional rectal surgery, leak rates using mechanical staplers and manual sutures routinely reach 10% to 12% due to compromised blood supplies during tissue mobilization.
"If we're putting this down to less than 1%, it's a major, major accomplishment," Prof. Gagner stated. "And that means a lot colorectal surgeons are going to move to magnets instead of staplers and sutures."
The underlying biological process relies on pure, natural tissue healing. The magnets apply uniform pressure, causing the tissue inside the perimeter to safely become necrotic while the outer tissue deposits collagen and fuses perfectly. Because no staples, sutures, or foreign materials remain permanently in the tissue, there is zero chronic inflammation or scar tissue formation.
Looking toward the broader medical landscape, GT Metabolic is also managing three distinct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing magnetic metabolic surgery directly against different GLP-1 receptor agonist anti-obesity medications. Designed for future publication in high-impact medical journals, early assessments indicate results that are exceptionally positive for the surgical field. Furthermore, the company is advancing the development of fenestrated magnets designed to create instantaneous, patent connections, which will eventually be introduced to complex colorectal, gastric, and oesophageal procedures.
Reflecting on his journey, Gagner emphasises that true medical innovation is an arduous process requiring immense patience. The concept of magnetic compression anastomosis has been nearly two decades in the making, navigating the 2008 financial crisis, corporate restarts, and a global pandemic.
"People think... that you have an idea, and then you go to the patent office next year and then you start a company and it's used for patients in five years. No, it's a much longer cycle," he warned.
He urges young innovators to actively protect their time outside of demanding clinical routines, capture creative concepts when the mind is at rest, and strictly secure intellectual property with the patent office before discussing designs with major medical device corporations. For the next generation of surgical residents, his core advice is three-fold: Patent, Patience, and Persistence.
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