A surgeon, who for “sexual gratification” deliberately froze his lower legs, leading to them being amputated, has been jailed.
Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing
Neil Hopper, of St Erme, Truro, Cornwall, fraudulently claimed hundreds of thousands of pounds, saying the injuries were “caused by sepsis”.
The 49-year-old NHS vascular surgeon received total payouts of more than £466,000 after making claims to two insurance companies.
Truro Crown Court heard Hopper 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 one he had a sexual interest in.
After receiving the compensation, Hopper spent the money on “luxury”, prosecutor Nicholas Lee said.
He spent £255,000 on building works at his home, had a £15,000 hot tub installed and spent £6,000 with a wood burner company.
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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 him for 22 months for the fraud charges and a further 10 months for the extreme images charges.
Mr 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 said 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 hospital when you have the symptoms of sepsis well knowing what the medics will be looking out.”
The judge said that after six weeks the medics decided his feet could not be saved and they amputated that May.
“You subsequently made fraudulent insurance claims to Aviva and Old Mutual Wealth, receiving a total of £466,000 fraudulently by representing that the injuries were organic, caused by sepsis, when you caused the injury seemingly at least in part for sexual gratification.”
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Hopper was identified following investigations into Gustavson, who led an extreme body modification ring which carried out male castration, penis removal and other procedures on people as young as 16.
The surgeon also exchanged thousands of messages with Gustavson about his own lower leg amputations and how he had done it, including asking how much dry ice he used.
“It is evident from the messages that Mr Hopper wished to become an amputee and it was always something he had dreamt of,” Mr Lee said.
Defence lawyer Andrew Langdon said his client had grown up in a rural village in Wales and felt he was “in the wrong body” from a young age.
He said Mr Hopper identified with body integrity identity disorder and those with a desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs.
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The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust said in a statement that Hopper’s colleagues had received support and counselling.
“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 surgery carried out by Hopper had been carried out, including by an independent clinical expert who had reviewed decisions to operate.
Gustavson, who netted more than £300,000 for 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.
