<figure id="attachment_445078" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2541px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-445078"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6cce9ddf"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/ac72f1996996d0d789ceaaa9f746634e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-445078" class="wp-caption-text">Last summer, Ishii was bedridden for a period at Aichi Sebone Hospital. Even after discharge, he continued receiving antibiotics for some time.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Revealing the medical trouble</h3>
<p data-start="224" data-end="264">He could move only his eyes and fingers.</p>
<p data-start="266" data-end="465">With an oxygen inhaler attached and an IV drip running, Satoshi Ishii (38)—Beijing Olympic judo gold medalist and current MMA fighter—says that in those days he was constantly aware of death.</p>
<p data-start="266" data-end="465"><strong>“It all started with a cervical disc herniation. I wanted to take care of it before my next fight.”</strong></p>
<p data-start="570" data-end="884">This happened in July of last year. However, the doctor who had previously treated his herniated disc with laser procedures had retired, and Ishii needed to find a successor. His search led him to Dr. A, a well-known laser-treatment specialist in Nagoya who had authored books and frequently appeared in the media.</p>
<p data-start="570" data-end="884"><strong>“On July 24, I underwent a procedure called percutaneous laser disc decompression. But when they gave me the anesthetic before the surgery, something felt wrong.</strong></p>
<p data-start="888" data-end="1343"><strong>The next day, when I returned to my family home in Osaka, I was hit with severe nausea and fever—I could barely walk. At a clinic run by an acquaintance, I was told, ‘This may be an infection. You need to contact the doctor who operated on you immediately.’ So I went back to Nagoya.”</strong></p>
<p data-start="1345" data-end="1509">Ishii pressed Dr. A, asking if it might be an infection, but the doctor dismissed the concern, saying, “It’s normal for the area to feel hot after laser surgery.”</p>
<p data-start="1345" data-end="1509"><strong>“I kept going to Dr. A for several days, but my condition only got worse. My entire body hurt. I felt exhausted. My fever kept rising. I felt, ‘This is really bad.’ Barely able to stand, I searched online for a well-regarded hospital and went to Aichi Sebone Hospital. I was diagnosed with purulent discitis and admitted on the spot. It was seven days after the laser surgery. They immediately started antibiotics, and I underwent two additional surgeries for incision and drainage.”</strong></p>
<p data-start="2012" data-end="2217">In late August, after being discharged, Ishii met with Dr. A. When he explained the whole series of events, Dr. A offered to refund the surgery fee and pay for Ishii’s treatment at Aichi Sebone Hospital.</p>
<p data-start="2012" data-end="2217"><strong>“I still see Dr. A on TV sometimes. Every time I do, I think: </strong><strong>‘Patients have to learn about their own bodies, symptoms, and treatment options. You can’t just leave everything to the doctor.’ I went through something unbearably painful—but if my experience can help someone, that’s at least some small comfort.”</strong></p>
<p data-start="2543" data-end="2789" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">The FRIDAY November 14/21 double issue (released October 31), as well as the paid edition FRIDAY GOLD, includes detailed coverage of the doubts Ishii had during surgery, the points experts labeled inappropriate, and Dr. A’s own explanation.</p>
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<div data-friday-gold-link-url="https://friday.gold/article/376047" data-friday-gold-link-title="Toshi Ishii, judo gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics, shockingly confessed to being temporarily bedridden due to medical trouble: &quot;I could only move my eyes and fingers." data-friday-gold-link-excerpt="When he ordered laser surgery for a herniated disc, he was &quot;prepared to die&quot; due to severe pain, high fever, and nausea. Satoshi Ishii (38) was bedridden with an oxygen inhaler and intravenous drip." data-friday-gold-link-thumbnail-wide="https://assets.friday.gold/friday-wp-production-assets/app/uploads/2025/10/IMG_3770-30105541423271.jpg/v/crop-faces:width=256,height=144/format:type=webp?Expires=4102444800&amp;Key-Pair-Id=K2H5GZZHVJCN4V&amp;Signature=l57Uj2Qmuft-jdXtgEiSmiRBfaf2iY-iQR2t6UCfIXp0hp-Rs4FdSnjmV1hrg6ulrY1p-MUWhjGml3WIjwp1mgEL48QbAYM6~qLyBcVp-hUNlEx1cNKT4EF0zOpEi~qqLLsq-5G2APgyf5uXBT0i~kUCSE93723XVGakG-Xpqg3jeo9mzqmcF6MELx1yNfxC8OLhCEujB0drZ~VNRotaySQsn-Hao0kXjUvtqBcXIKP0gG8P4RDHLHtr7sEGVRiLZ28UYbGxwo0k4sEg67yZItPm80vc3z~9u4~MjNwxsKLSKxl429Z3EqIJPuYh4WLUbrDU2USiU5AanRJhJPIaZw__" data-friday-gold-link-thumbnail-square="https://assets.friday.gold/friday-wp-production-assets/app/uploads/2025/10/IMG_3770-30105541423271.jpg/v/crop-faces:width=105,height=105/format:type=webp?Expires=4102444800&amp;Key-Pair-Id=K2H5GZZHVJCN4V&amp;Signature=Xjd3IfwtUazK-t9F52w70iYNdIjWXb06IBZMceo11Gb-mZflJicem2QAHIHKqInP9-rDSxFWVGQCbxWZk4BmXWRgVCY8KPLg9u8JLMZOrd2R6JyOId925TB1PQ3uiLRkNDuydzleBXhBcp3h5B3-fxtqkaVJLnsD4JxMB12ftHyPxgGeL0Wh1~UcdklOBWSwVT162ugiCWHy4z4WSHRGhy0e1AB5yUCH8-r2jhoxE4IR00RwH3GTPlIf82ppiA8njH~g5ZpUImskZKlbwxzEbjCy318AnLqs~gqN1a1tRWObnrEN0HOV89CgIBpAnj--4PLMKfoeYAkSTJGSX-ROGg__"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_445082" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-445082"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7e59afbb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/11f5315d0fdebb3df4e4554339df02f2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-445082" class="wp-caption-text">The medical report from Aichi Sebone Hospital. The diagnosis from the clinic he visited immediately after the laser surgery was postoperative infection following cervical disc herniation surgery.</figcaption></figure>
<p>From the November 14-21, 2025 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221;</p>


 The only things he could move on his own were his eyes and fingers. Last July, after undergoing laser surgery for a herniated disc, Beijing Olympics judo gold medalist and mixed martial artist Toshi Ishii was bedridden. He confessed the circumstances of his medical trouble.

Beijing Olympic Judo Champion Reveals He Was Prepared for Death After a Medical Mishap

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