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UK doctor jailed after getting own feet amputated in insurance fraud & out of sexual fetish for body mutilation

A British doctor has been jailed after deliberately freezing his own feet until they had to be amputated in what prosecutors described as a twisted mix of insurance fraud and sexual obsession.

According to The Guardian, the 49-year-old vascular surgeon, Neil Hopper from Cornwall, United Kingdom (UK), admitted to fraud and possessing extreme pornographic material.

He was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

Doctor fakes medical emergency to cash in on insurance

In May 2019, Hopper underwent a double amputation below the knees. At the time, doctors believed sepsis had destroyed his legs, reports the BBC.

But on Thursday (4 Sept), a UK court heard that Hopper had in fact used ice and dry ice to deliberately destroy his feet, forcing the amputations.

The court was told his real motivation was greed. Following the surgery, he pocketed nearly £467,000 (S$809,000) in insurance payouts.

The money went into luxury purchases, including a campervan, a hot tub, and property upgrades.

Source: Cornwall Live

Following the surgery, Hopper received a lot of positive attention in the media.

According to Cornwall Live, he was celebrated as a “hero surgeon” for returning to work quickly after his amputations.

Sexual obsession with amputation uncovered

Behind the facade, however, Hopper harboured a disturbing sexual fixation with amputations.

Investigators discovered he had been active on an extreme pornographic site called “EunuchMaker”, where users shared graphic content of castration and genital mutilation.

Using the alias “AdmirerDoc”, Hopper exchanged hundreds of messages with the site’s owner, discussing ways to become a double amputee.

In one message, he wrote: “It’s going to be awesome being a double amputee”, attaching a photo of his erect penis.

After the operation, he continued to fetishise his condition.

Source: ITV

According to the BBC, the court also heard that Hopper had suffered from body dysphoria since childhood, describing his feet as “unwelcome extras”.

Patients left questioning their own surgeries

Hopper pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud and three charges of possessing extreme pornography. Judge James Adkin also imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

His arrest has left some former patients shaken. Several have approached authorities to ask if the life-changing surgeries Hopper performed on them were truly necessary — or influenced by his disturbing obsessions.

The National Health Service (NHS) trust has stressed that Hopper’s criminal charges are unrelated to his clinical work and that there is no evidence his patients were harmed.

Hopper was suspended in March 2023 following his arrest, was struck off the medical register in Dec 2023, and now faces divorce proceedings from his wife.

Also read: Man in Taiwan soaks legs in dry ice to get them amputated for S$1.7M insurance payout

Man in Taiwan soaks legs in dry ice to get them amputated for S$1.7M insurance payout

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