Introduction to the Case
An NHS vascular surgeon who had removed his own legs was detained for two years and eight months for insurance fraud and extreme pornography. The 49-year-old surgeon, Neil Hopper, carried out hundreds of amputation operations before he had his own legs removed in 2019. Truro Crown Court heard that he had lied to insurers by claiming that injuries to the legs were the result of sepsis and not self-inflicted.
The Motivations Behind the Actions
The court heard that Hopper had a "sexual interest in amputation". Judge James Adkin said when he was convicted that he accepted that Hopper, who had no previous convictions, was repentant. The "level of damage" in three videos of the body mutilation, which were the subject of pornography, is "exceptionally high," he said. Hopper had amputated both legs after complaining that his feet were in pain. He was treated for alleged sepsis before surgeons informed him that he should amputate his legs and that he was operated on.
The Fraudulent Insurance Claims
The fraudulent insurance claims from two companies amounted to more than £466,000, the court heard. Hopper was tried by "Greed", according to the prosecutor. He had sent a friend about the claims that he should "milk" them, as the court heard. He "enjoyed" the interest of the media in his case. "His motivations were a combination of obsession to remove parts of his own body and a sexual interest in it," the prosecutor said. "It seems to have been a longstanding ambition of his," he said.
The Aftermath of the Amputations
After the amputations, Hopper was back at work in almost six months. He was arrested in March 2023 and exposed to the medical register since December 2023. Andrew Langdon, KC, said in reducing that the crimes were a "shock" for friends. He said, "He [Hopper] was obliged to work on the service of others. The whole saga is very difficult to understand."
The Extreme Pornography Crimes
The extreme pornography crimes were associated with videos of physical mutilation that Hopper bought online, and did not include children, as the court heard. Hopper was identified by Marius Gustavson, who led the Eunuchmaker website. The prosecutor informed the court that Hopper bought three videos from the website for £10 or £35 and that men who were lying back their genitals. He also exchanged about 1,500 messages with Gustavson against his own amputations and how he had done, including the question of how much dry ice he used.
The Reaction of Former Patients
Former patients with Hopper, including some who have amputated, contacted a medical negligence company based in the southwest. They said they were concerned about the treatment they received from Hopper in view of the criminal complaints raised against him. Mike Bird, partner at Enable Law, said the case caused "shock and serious concern" in his former patients. "Some have had life-changing operation and now fear that it was not really needed," said Bird. "Although we understand that Rcht said that the indictment is not related to his professional behavior and apparently there is no evidence that they have a risk for the patient, this is such a serious situation that there must be a strict public investigation."
The Public Investigation
The Crown Concoldution Service announced that after the proceeds of the 2022 crime law would apply to reclaim the money that Hopper acquired through the fraud. Jason Abbot, 38, from Hayle, whose foot was amputated in November 2022 after painful arthritis in a Hopper ankle, he said that he had no concerns about his care. "He was great, the situation was very supported, [he gave] I have a lot of information about it and said I should think about it really well, and I did it." He said he was "shocked" that Hopper had been convicted. "I never thought that he would do something like that." Hopper also worked in the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales, for a time of training in the General Operation in 2011, the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board confirmed.
