A vascular surgeon who carried out hundreds of amputation operations before having his own legs removed has admitted fraud and possessing extreme pornography from a man dubbed the “Eunuch Maker”.
Neil Hopper, 49, pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation relating to claims made to insurance companies that his legs had been amputated due to illness rather than self-inflicted injury.
He also admitted three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, relating to videos by a website called the EunuchMaker, which depicted genital mutilation.
Hopper, of St Erme, Truro, Cornwall, appeared before Truro Crown Court on Thursday to enter his guilty pleas.
Charges state that between June 3 and July 20 in 2019, Hopper dishonestly made a false representation to insurers Aviva and Old Mutual Health, that his “legs had been amputated because of illness rather than self-inflicted injury”.
The court heard Hopper had 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 he had a sexual interest in.
Following the amputation, he made claims to the insurers which resulted in total payouts of £466,653.81.
During the court hearing on Thursday, Judge James Adkin, the honorary recorder of Truro, heard Hopper was identified following investigations into Marius Gustavson who ran the EunuchMaker website.
Gustavson was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years at the Old Bailey last year for leading an extreme body modification ring, which carried out male castration, penis removal and other procedures on people as young as 16.
The Norwegian national once cooked human testicles to eat in a salad, and also had his own penis removed with a kitchen knife, and froze his own leg so it was amputated.
The Old Bailey heard last year extreme body modification is linked to a subculture where men become “nullos”, short for genital nullification, by having their penis and testicles removed.
Gustavson netted more than £300,000 between 2017 and 2021 after posting videos of various procedures on his EunuchMaker website.
Nicholas Lee, prosecuting, told the court that Hopper had bought three videos from the EunuchMaker.com website for £10 and £35, respectively, showing men willingly having their genitals removed.
He also exchanged around 1,500 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.
“Something he has been obsessed with and had a sexual interest in becoming an amputee.”
Gustavson told Hopper he needed to immerse his legs in ice and dry ice for at “least eight hours” and would also require prescription painkillers, which he bought from the dark web.
The court heard Hopper’s wife and children were away from their home in St Erme when he immersed his feet in dry ice on April 15 2019.
While doing this he continued to message Gustavson, telling him: “It’s going to be awesome being a double amputee.”
He then sent Gustavson a picture of his erect penis.
Some days later a family friend was concerned for Hopper’s welfare and paramedics were called to his home where they found him in bed and took him to the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
Hopper told doctors he had been unwell with diarrhoea and vomiting and they treated him for suspected sepsis before transferring him to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth to undergo treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
On May 10 he underwent a double foot amputation and a week later surgeons carried out a further operation to remove his legs below the knees.
“It is apparent that Neil Hopper didn’t tell the medical professionals doing all they could to help him the real cause of his injuries,” Mr Lee said.
Hopper took a photo of his bandaged feet and sent it to Gustavson with the message: “It feels so cool. No feet!.”
Hopper has not worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust since March 2023.
Restrictions were placed on his practice the following month, and he has been under an interim suspension from the medical register since December 2023.
Andrew Langdon KC, mitigating, 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 was troubled by his gender, he wanted to be female,” Mr Langdon said.
Mr Langdon told how Hopper identified with body integrity identity disorder and those with a desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs.
Hopper described his thoughts about his feet being amputated as “persistent, never ending”.
In April 2019, Hopper decided to cause “irreversible damage to his legs” when his family were staying with his in laws.
“He knows in the days and weeks that followed, he let himself down in the most shameful way,” Mr Langdon said.
The barrister said Hopper’s wife wanted a divorce, he would probably lose his home and he accepted that his medical career was over.
Quoting Hopper, he said: “My thoughts and behaviour have not have any effect on my job.
“I worked very hard and always tried my best for my patients.”
After Hopper was charged with five offences, the trust – where Hopper had been employed for a decade – released a statement.
A spokesperson said: “The charges do not relate to Mr Hopper’s professional conduct and there has been 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 initial arrest.”
