In a case that has stunned both the medical community and the general public, Neil Hopper, a once-respected NHS vascular surgeon from Cornwall, has been jailed for 32 months after admitting to a bizarre and deeply disturbing fraud. Hopper, 49, deliberately froze his lower legs using dry ice in April 2019, causing injuries so severe that amputation became medically necessary. He then falsely claimed to insurers that his amputations were the result of sepsis, ultimately defrauding insurance companies out of more than £466,000 (over $600,000), according to BBC News and Sky News.
The full details of the case, revealed at Truro Crown Court on September 4, 2025, paint a picture of a man whose motivations were as complex as they were troubling. Prosecutor Nicholas Lee told the court that Hopper’s actions were driven by a combination of "sexual interest in amputation" and "greed." The court heard that Hopper had long harbored an obsession with removing parts of his own body, and that this desire was intertwined with sexual gratification. Lee stated, "His motivations were a combination of obsession with removing parts of his own body and a sexual interest in doing so." (Sky News)
Hopper went to extraordinary lengths to achieve his goal. He submerged his legs in a mixture of ice and dry ice for eight hours, following detailed instructions he had received from Marius Gustavson, the notorious operator of the EunuchMaker website. According to the Guardian, Hopper and Gustavson exchanged thousands of messages about the mechanics of self-amputation, including discussions about the amount of dry ice required. In one chilling message to Gustavson after the procedure, Hopper wrote, "It feels so cool, no feet!" (The Times)
After his legs were amputated in May 2019, Hopper wasted little time in making fraudulent claims to two insurance companies, Aviva and Old Mutual Wealth. He insisted that his injuries were organic and caused by sepsis, withholding the truth that they were self-inflicted. These claims resulted in payouts totaling £466,653.81. As detailed by Sky News and The Guardian, Hopper spent the ill-gotten gains on a wide array of luxury items and home improvements: £255,000 went toward building works at his home, £15,000 on a hot tub, £6,000 on a wood burner, £22,000 on a campervan, £13,000 on prosthetics, and £52,000 was given to his wife. By June 2022, the insurance money had all been spent.
Hopper’s fraudulent activities did not end with the insurance scam. He also admitted to three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, specifically videos purchased from Gustavson’s EunuchMaker website. These videos depicted acts of genital mutilation and body modification, and prosecutors said Hopper’s purchases and online discussions "encouraged Marius Gustavson to remove body parts of third parties." (The Times) Gustavson himself was jailed for life in 2024 for leading an extreme body modification ring that carried out castrations and other procedures, sometimes on people as young as 16, as reported by The Guardian.
Judge James Adkin, sentencing Hopper, described his actions as "deliberate and calculated." He noted that Hopper had caused "direct damage using dry ice following instructions given by Mr Gustavson," and then misled medical staff at the hospital by claiming to have symptoms of sepsis. After six weeks of futile attempts to save his feet, doctors proceeded with the double below-knee amputation. Adkin imposed a 22-month sentence for the fraud charges and a further 10 months for the extreme pornography offenses. A sexual harm prevention order was also put in place for ten years, and a proceeds of crime investigation was ordered to recover some of the funds Hopper had fraudulently obtained. The judge remarked, "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." (Sky News)
Hopper’s defense lawyer, Andrew Langdon, argued that his client had suffered from body dysphoria since childhood and identified with those who experience body integrity identity disorder—a rare psychological condition in which individuals feel as though one or more of their limbs do not belong to them. Langdon told the court, "He doesn’t regret the amputations, because for 20 years he felt a need to have them removed, but he does regret the dishonesty." (The Times)
Hopper’s case has left a trail of concern and confusion in its wake. He had worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust from 2013 until his suspension in March 2023. The Trust, in statements reported by The Guardian and Sky News, emphasized that Hopper’s crimes did not relate to his professional conduct and that "there has been no evidence to suggest any risk to patients." However, former patients—especially those who underwent amputations—have begun seeking legal advice over the treatment they received from Hopper, worried that their own surgeries may not have been necessary. The Trust has responded by conducting comprehensive clinical reviews of Hopper’s surgical cases, including engaging independent experts to review his decisions. "We want to reassure the public that our exhaustive investigations have found no evidence whatsoever to indicate any risk or harm to patients at our hospitals," a spokesperson said. (The Times)
Despite the gravity of his actions, Hopper appeared to relish the attention his story generated. He gave interviews to the BBC and S4C in 2023, and was even shortlisted in the European Space Agency’s search for an astronaut with a disability. Hopper called himself the "bionic surgeon" and returned to work less than six months after his amputation, using prosthetic legs. But the facade did not last. In December 2023, he was formally struck off the medical register, ending his career in medicine.
Hopper’s wife is now seeking a divorce, and the proceeds of crime investigation may result in him losing his home. The court also heard that he received £44,000 in disability payments from the Department of Work and Pensions, though these were not claimed fraudulently. In a final statement to the court, Hopper said he "bitterly regrets" his "dishonesty" but does not regret the loss of his legs—an admission that underscores the depth of his obsession and the complexity of his psychological state.
The case of Neil Hopper is a sobering reminder of the unpredictable intersections between mental health, criminality, and professional trust. As the dust settles, the NHS and wider medical community are left grappling with the fallout, determined to restore public confidence and ensure that such a breach of trust is never repeated.
