A medical system (20, 120) comprising: a stent (22, 122) having a magnetic element (30, 130) connected to an end of the stent (22, 122); and a retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) for retrieving the stent (22, 122) placed with a body lumen of the digestive system of a mammalian patient, the stent (22, 122) having a magnetic element (30, 130) connected to an end of the stent (22, 122), the retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) comprising: a magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) having a size suitable for being ingested by the mammalian patient, the magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) capable of being magnetically coupled to the magnetic element (30, 130) of the stent (22, 122) for removal of the stent (22, 122), at least one of the magnetic element (30, 130) and magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) having a magnet; and a tail (36, 136, 236, 336, 736) connected to the magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) and constructed of a flexible material; characterised in that the retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) has a length of 0.635 cm to 7.62 cm and a diameter in the range of 0.3175 cm to 1.27 cm, said retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) is thus sized to be wholly ingested by the mammalian patient and sized for removal of the stent (22, 122) from the body lumen through natural forces of the digestive system; and the force of attraction between the magnetic element (30, 130) and magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) is between about 4 Newtons to about 10 Newtons. a stent (22, 122) having a magnetic element (30, 130) connected to an end of the stent (22, 122); and a retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) for retrieving the stent (22, 122) placed with a body lumen of the digestive system of a mammalian patient, the stent (22, 122) having a magnetic element (30, 130) connected to an end of the stent (22, 122), the retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) comprising: a magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) having a size suitable for being ingested by the mammalian patient, the magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) capable of being magnetically coupled to the magnetic element (30, 130) of the stent (22, 122) for removal of the stent (22, 122), at least one of the magnetic element (30, 130) and magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) having a magnet; and a tail (36, 136, 236, 336, 736) connected to the magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) and constructed of a flexible material; characterised in that the retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) has a length of 0.635 cm to 7.62 cm and a diameter in the range of 0.3175 cm to 1.27 cm, said retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) is thus sized to be wholly ingested by the mammalian patient and sized for removal of the stent (22, 122) from the body lumen through natural forces of the digestive system; and the force of attraction between the magnetic element (30, 130) and magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) is between about 4 Newtons to about 10 Newtons. a magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) having a size suitable for being ingested by the mammalian patient, the magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) capable of being magnetically coupled to the magnetic element (30, 130) of the stent (22, 122) for removal of the stent (22, 122), at least one of the magnetic element (30, 130) and magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) having a magnet; and a tail (36, 136, 236, 336, 736) connected to the magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) and constructed of a flexible material; the retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) has a length of 0.635 cm to 7.62 cm and a diameter in the range of 0.3175 cm to 1.27 cm, said retrieval device (24, 124, 224, 324, 724) is thus sized to be wholly ingested by the mammalian patient and sized for removal of the stent (22, 122) from the body lumen through natural forces of the digestive system; and the force of attraction between the magnetic element (30, 130) and magnetic member (34, 134, 234, 334, 734) is between about 4 Newtons to about 10 Newtons.