Vascular surgeon deliberately damages legs for amputation, receives prison sentence
A surgeon, who deliberately froze his lower legs for "sexual gratification," resulting in them being amputated, has been jailed.
Neil Hopper, from St Erme, Truro, Cornwall, fraudulently claimed hundreds of thousands of pounds, claiming the injuries were "caused by sepsis."
The 49-year-old NHS vascular surgeon received total payouts of around £466,000 after making claims to two insurance companies.
Truro Crown Court heard that Hopper used dry ice to freeze his legs to the point where they were no longer viable, necessitating amputation—a long-held ambition of his, which he had a sexual interest in.
After receiving the compensation, Hopper spent the money on "luxury," prosecutor Nicholas Lee said.
He used £255,000 for building works at his home, installed a £15,000 hot tub, and spent £6,000 with a wood burner company.
Hopper also bought a £22,000 campervan, spent £13,000 on prosthetics, and gave £52,000 to his wife.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation and three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, relating to videos by a website called the EunuchMaker run by Marius Gustavson, which depicted genital mutilation.
The judge, James Adkin, the honorary recorder of Truro, jailed Hopper for 22 months for the fraud charges and an additional 10 months for the extreme images charges.
Hopper has not worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust since March 2023 and has been under an interim suspension from the medical register since December 2023.
Mr. Adkin stated that in April 2019, Hopper deliberately froze his lower legs "causing direct damage using dry ice, following instructions given by Mr. Gustavson."
"You were admitted to the hospital with symptoms of sepsis, fully aware of what the medics would be looking for," he said.
The judge mentioned that after six weeks, the medics decided his feet could not be saved, and they were amputated in May of that year.
"You subsequently made fraudulent insurance claims to Aviva and Old Mutual Wealth, receiving a total of £466,000 fraudulently by claiming the injuries were organic, caused by sepsis, when in fact you caused the injury seemingly at least in part for sexual gratification."
Hopper was identified following investigations into Gustavson, who led an extreme body modification ring which performed male castration, penis removal, and other procedures on individuals as young as 16.
The surgeon also exchanged thousands of messages with Gustavson regarding his own lower leg amputations and how he carried them out, including asking how much dry ice he used.
"It is evident from the messages that Mr. Hopper wanted to become an amputee, and it was always something he had dreamt of," Mr. Lee said.
Defense lawyer Andrew Langdon said his client grew up in a rural village in Wales and felt he was "in the wrong body" from a young age.
He said Hopper identified with body integrity identity disorder and shared the desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs.
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust stated that Hopper’s colleagues received support and counseling.
"While the details of the charges are shocking, it is important to stress that the convictions do not relate to Mr. Hopper’s professional conduct," a spokesperson said.
They added that comprehensive clinical reviews of Hopper’s surgeries had been conducted, including by an independent clinical expert who had reviewed the decisions to operate.
Gustavson, who earned more than £300,000 between 2017 and 2021 from his EunuchMaker website, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years in prison at the Old Bailey last year.
Head of Investigations
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