October 8, 2026 — Phantom GI, developers of a minimally invasive alternative to surgical ostomy, today announced the initial closing of a $5 million seed round led by Pitango Healthcare, with participation from RAD Biomed and RUNI Ventures. The funding will support the development and first phase of U.S. clinical studies of PercStoma, a patent-pending device designed to create an ostomy without conventional surgery or general anesthesia.
PercStoma is intended for patients with bowel obstruction who are currently considered inoperable for surgery. Up to 55,000 patients in the U.S. die each year as a direct result of malignant bowel obstruction, with many unable to undergo a surgical ostomy under general anesthesia to relieve the obstruction, with the total cost of care running up towards $70,000 per surgery.
“There is a group of patients today for whom the standard surgical option is simply too invasive, and in some cases, not an option at all,” said Ido Sadan, CEO and Co-Founder of Phantom GI. “We started Phantom GI with the belief that creating an ostomy should not necessitate major surgery. Our vision is to make minimal invasive intervention an alternative to surgery across ostomy indications, delivering the same clinical objective with significantly reduced healthcare burden.”
The technology originated from research conducted by Phantom GI Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Eran Shlomovitz, whose clinical training spans general surgery, medical imaging and therapeutic endoscopy. The idea for PercStoma emerged from a patient Shlomovitz encountered in 2023: a woman with malignant bowel obstruction who had been deemed inoperable. Rather than accepting that conventional surgery was her only option, Shlomovitz developed a method to use off-the-shelf interventional devices to access and decompress the patient's bowel under X-ray guidance. With the patient's consent, he performed the procedure successfully. She was subsequently able to return to a normal diet, go back to work and resume treatment for her underlying cancer.
“Malignant bowel obstruction patients who cannot undergo surgery currently face very limited options for relieving their obstruction,” said Dr. Eliahu Bekhor, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Phantom GI. “We believe a minimally invasive percutaneous approach will fundamentally expand the treatment options available to these patients. Our estimation is that more than 100,000 U.S. bowel obstruction patients could potentially benefit annually.”
Conventional surgical ostomy requires an abdominal incision through which a loop of bowel is brought to the surface while the patient is under general anesthesia. Even for patients who can undergo surgery, the procedure can involve significant complications, healthcare costs and, in many cases, a second surgical procedure to reverse the stoma. PercStoma is designed to achieve the same functional outcome without conventional ostomy surgery. The device accesses the bowel through a single needle puncture under local anesthesia and X-ray imaging. Once the bowel is accessed and secured, a proprietary stent is positioned between the bowel and the skin surface, allowing bowel contents to be diverted into a standard stoma bag. The company is targeting a procedure time of approximately 20 minutes.
The technology is also being designed to simplify reversal. Phantom GI intends for the stoma to be reversed through a rapid, office-based procedure rather than a second major operation under general anesthesia. Conventional surgical reversal can carry significant complications, leaving up to 50% of eligible patients unable to undergo the secondary procedure.
“Phantom GI’s exceptional team is challenging the surgical paradigm that has defined ostomy creation for decades. This shift to a percutaneous approach could reduce treatment complexity and significantly expand who can be treated,” said Dr. Jonathan Glazer, Partner at Pitango Healthcare. “ We’re excited to lead the round and see it as an example of the clinical and strategic value Israel’s medical device ecosystem can create.”
Founded in Tel Aviv in 2025, Phantom GI is developing PercStoma, a patent-pending device designed to enable minimally invasive ostomy through a single needle puncture under local anesthesia and X-ray imaging. The technology is intended as an alternative to surgical ostomy and can serve as a platform technology for numerous other indications.
