Former NHS surgeon who amputated his own legs for sick sexual fantasy is struck off

A former NHS surgeon who amputated his own legs to fulfill his sexual fantasy has been struck from the GMC records.

Dr Neil Hopper used dry ice to freeze his legs to the point of requiring amputation and then claimed he contracted sepsis following a family camping trip.

Last year he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.

Hopper, who was a consultant vascular surgeon at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, fraudulently claimed more than £466,000 in insurance payments after the amputations.

In September, Truro Crown Court heard Hopper used dry ice in 2019 to freeze his legs to the point of requiring amputation.

Hopper did this to act out a sexual fantasy; The surgeon had also purchased and viewed amputation pornography from an illegal website known as ‘The Eunuch Maker’.

Disgraced doctor who performed hospital amputations defrauded two insurance companies out of £466,653 by claiming his legs had been amputated due to sepsis.

Hopper has now been struck off the GMC (General Medical Council) register by a court with immediate effect, meaning he is now banned from practicing as a surgeon.

He used dry ice to freeze his legs enough to require amputation

In deciding to sack the former NHS surgeon, the panel found Hopper ‘posed a risk to patient safety’ and added that the ban would ‘maintain public confidence in the medical profession’. Sun reported.

The labor court noted that the convict, who is still in prison, ‘made no substantive statement objecting to the immediate issuance of an order’.

The panel added: ‘This means Dr Hopper’s registration will be suspended from today.

‘The original order, as previously explained, will come into force 28 days from the date on which the written notice is served, unless an objection is made in the meantime.

‘If an appeal is made, the immediate order will remain in force until the appeal is concluded.’

Hopper’s sickening scheme to defraud insurance companies by claiming that his legs had to be amputated after contracting sepsis (not that he had cut off his legs himself) came to light after he was investigated for paying for access to a website called EnuchMaker, which sold videos of amputations and body modifications, including the removal of penises.

The website, which has since been shut down, offered paid access to videos of Marius Gustavson performing extreme body modifications and mutilations on paying customers.

Six men – Marius Gustavson, Janus Atkin, David Carruthers, Ashley Williams, Damien Byrne and Jacob Crimi-Appleby – were jailed for their involvement in the organization which carried out male castration, penis extraction and other “grisly” procedures on boys as young as 16.

Hopper even went on national television and lied to the hosts about why his legs were amputated. Here he is seen speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on ITV’s This Morning in 2020.

Last year, Hopper pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of possession of extreme pornographic images.

Gustavson, who led the group, once cooked human testicles to eat in a salad and also had to freeze his own leg and have it amputated.

Eunuch Maker made more than £300,000 between 2017 and 2021 after posting videos of various procedures on his website, the Old Bailey previously heard.

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said Gustavson, 46, was linked to at least 29 procedures and there was ‘clear evidence of cannibalism’.

The six men were sentenced to four to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years.

Gustavson pleaded guilty to several offences, including five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and was sentenced in May 2024 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years in prison.

Hopper, who even appeared on national television and lied to hosts about how he lost his legs, suffered injuries that resulted in below-knee amputations in April 2019.

Although he claimed that the injuries to his limbs were the result of sepsis, he actually caused these injuries himself by putting his legs in a mixture of ice and dry ice he bought online.

Following Hopper’s conviction in September last year, Richard Parkhouse, of the CPS, said: ‘This is a highly unusual and shocking case, which emerged during an investigation into a website selling extreme images of amputations and body modifications.

The board decided to dismiss the former NHS surgeon and found that Hopper ‘posed a risk to patient safety’

‘Hopper’ has a sexual fetish linked to amputation and pays to access these images for his own gratification.

‘In communication with the website owner the truth about Hopper’s own injuries emerged: that the damage leading to the double leg amputation was self-inflicted.

‘Hopper failed to disclose this fact when making two insurance claims for his injuries and fraudulently pocketed almost half a million pounds.’

Investigators found that Hopper paid for access to the website and exchanged more than 5,000 messages and emails with Gustavson, including discussing the double amputation of Hopper’s lower legs.

These exchanges included Gustavson providing Hopper with advice and guidance on how to freeze his legs.

A PayPal transaction revealed Hopper had purchased 20kg of dry ice pellets online on April 14, 2019, just days before paramedics found him at his home on April 17 with serious injuries to his feet and legs.

Following the amputations, Hopper made insurance claims to Avia and Old Mutual Wealth, which paid out £235,622.14 and £231,031.67 respectively, for a total of £466,653.81.

At the time of Hopper’s sentencing, a spokesman for the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust said: ‘The charges do not relate to Mr Hopper’s professional conduct and there is 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 first arrest.’