Surgeon Neil Hopper who had own legs amputated for sexual gratification jailed

An NHS surgeon who had his legs amputated for sexual pleasure has been jailed after pleading guilty to two charges of fraud.

Neil Hopper, a vascular surgeon once named Britain's bravest NHS surgeon following appearances on the BBC and ITV, claimed he fell ill while his family was on a camping trip and had to have his legs amputated. But, in reality, the 49-year-old medic's injuries were self-inflicted, as he froze his legs using dry ice while his wife and children were away on a trip.

He told a friend who found him at home after inflicting the injuries that he had suffered from flu-like symptoms. He went on to fraudulently claim more than £466,000 in insurance, and has now been jailed for 32 months.

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Hopper, an amputation veteran who had carried out hundreds of operations, has admitted to inflicting the injuries while living out a depraved sexual fantasy during a trial at Truro Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation relating to claims made to insurance companies that his legs had been amputated due to illness rather than self-inflicted injury.

He also admitted three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, relating to videos by a website called EunuchMaker, which depicted genital mutilation.

Hopper, of St Erme, Truro, Cornwall, appeared before Truro Crown Court on Thursday to enter his guilty pleas. Charges state that between June 3 and July 20 in 2019, Hopper dishonestly made a false representation to insurers Aviva and Old Mutual Health, claiming his “legs had been amputated because of illness rather than self-inflicted injury”.

The court heard Hopper had used dry ice to freeze his legs to the extent they were no longer viable, requiring amputation – which had long been an ambition of his and he had a sexual interest in.

His legs were amputated after paramedics were called to his home after a family friend raised concerns about Hopper, and he was found in bed before being taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital. He told doctors he had been unwell with diarrhoea and vomiting and they treated him for suspected sepsis before transferring him to a new hospital.

He underwent treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber after being sent to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, and underwent a double foot amputation on May 10.

A week later, surgeons carried out a further operation to remove his legs below the knees. Nicholas Lee, prosecuting, said: "It is apparent that Neil Hopper didn’t tell the medical professionals doing all they could to help him the real cause of his injuries." Following the amputation, he made claims to the insurers which resulted in total payouts of £466,653.81.

During the court hearing on Thursday, Judge James Adkin, the honorary recorder of Truro, heard Hopper was identified following investigations into Marius Gustavson who ran the EunuchMaker website.

Gustavson was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years at the Old Bailey last year for leading an extreme body modification ring, which carried out male castration, penis removal and other procedures on people as young as 16. The Norwegian national once cooked human testicles to eat in a salad, and also had his own penis removed with a kitchen knife, and froze his own leg so it was amputated.

The Old Bailey heard last year extreme body modification is linked to a subculture where men become “nullos”, short for genital nullification, by having their penis and testicles removed.

Gustavson netted more than £300,000 between 2017 and 2021 after posting videos of various procedures on his EunuchMaker website. Nicholas Lee, prosecuting, told the court Hopper had bought three videos from the EunuchMaker.com website for £10 and £35, respectively, showing men willingly having their genitals removed.

He also exchanged around 1,500 messages with Gustavson about his own lower leg amputations and how he had done it, including asking how much dry ice he used.

Mr Lee said: “It is evident from the messages that Mr Hopper wished to become an amputee and it was always something he had dreamt of. Something he has been obsessed with and had a sexual interest in becoming an amputee.”

Hopper has not worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust since March 2023. Restrictions were placed on his practice the following month, and he has been under an interim suspension from the medical register since December 2023.

After Hopper was charged with five offences, the trust – where Hopper had been employed for a decade – released a statement. A spokesperson said: “The charges do not relate to Mr Hopper’s professional conduct and there has been no evidence to suggest any risk to patients.

“Mr Hopper worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals from 2013 until he was suspended from duty in March 2023, following his initial arrest.”