Dr Neil Hopper, from Truro, Cornwall, a 49-year-old former NHS (National Health Service) vascular surgeon, who had performed hundreds of amputations, received a 32-month prison sentence on 4th September 2025, after admitting to court of fraudulently claiming almost £467,000 in insurance payouts and possessing extreme pornography.
In May 2019, he deliberately froze his own legs using dry ice, part of a long-held sexual obsession resulting in irreversible tissue damage that required amputation. He then falsely blamed the amputations on sepsis in order to secure the insurance settlements.
Court proceedings revealed that Hopper had long harbored a sexual interest in amputation. He exchanged approximately 1,500 messages with Marius Gustavson, the operator of the “Eunuch Maker” website, in which he discussed methods for self-amputation. Marius Gustavson was jailed for life last year(2024).
Hopper admitted to sitting with his legs in wet and dry ice for eight hours in order to cause the damage while his wife and children was on a trip to visit her family. He also purchased videos depicting genital removal and extreme body modification. Neil Hopper was exposed after investigation into Marius Gustavson revealed their message exchanges in March 2023 and has been suspended from the medical register since December 2023.
Hopper, who is originally from Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, had been employed by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) from 2013 until he was arrested in March 2023.
Hopper appeared on television and spoke publicly about his supposed battle with sepsis in Dec 2019. He became a media figure, appearing on BBC, ITV’s This Morning, featured in documentaries, and shortlisted by the European Space Agency as a candidate for a para-astronaut program.
Following his conviction, Hopper received not only prison time but also a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and proceedings began to recover funds obtained fraudulently. He was suspended from the medical register in December 2023 after professional restrictions were placed earlier that year.
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust stated that clinical reviews, conducted by independent experts, found no evidence that Hopper’s professional conduct had compromised patient safety. Still, some former patients, especially those who underwent amputations, have raised concerns and contacted legal advisors to investigate whether their surgeries were necessary.
Neil Hopper’s defense cited a history of body dysphoria and gender identity issues. His lawyer described longstanding feelings of being born in the wrong body and the belief that his feet were an unwelcome part of his body.
(Rh/Eth/TL/MSM)
