Dr. Neil Hopper, once a trusted vascular surgeon in Cornwall, was sentenced to 32 months in prison after a court uncovered shocking details about his private life. Known professionally for performing complex amputations to save patients, Hopper confessed that he had secretly harbored a long-standing fixation with limb removal—one that ultimately drove him to target himself.

The court heard how Hopper immersed his feet in dry ice for up to eight hours in April 2019, leaving the tissue so severely damaged that doctors later deemed both legs unsalvageable. He was rushed to hospital with suspected sepsis, spending weeks in a hyperbaric chamber before surgeons amputated both legs below the knee.

Represented by Andrew Langdon KC, Hopper explained that he had struggled with identity and mental health issues since childhood, describing himself as having felt “in the wrong body.” Langdon told the court that Hopper associated with body integrity identity disorder—a rare psychological condition where individuals experience an overwhelming desire to amputate healthy limbs.

Hopper reportedly admitted that the thoughts of losing his feet were “persistent, never ending.” His lawyer added that from a young age Hopper was conflicted about gender identity and carried emotional turmoil for decades. While his family was away visiting relatives, Hopper executed his drastic plan, submerging his feet in ice until irreversible damage was done.

Despite the disturbing circumstances, Hopper went on to reinvent himself publicly as part of the amputee community. In fact, he was celebrated in 2020 at the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons, where he won the Against All Odds title for his so-called inspiring story of resilience.

However, the truth behind his amputations came crashing down when investigators linked him to a website called Eunuch Maker, operated by Marius Gustavson, a man later sentenced to 22 years for live-streaming extreme body modification acts. Prosecutors revealed Hopper had accessed material from the site, with Judge James Adkin ruling that the videos he possessed showed mutilation of “exceptionally high” severity. Some of the content reportedly depicted procedures on individuals as young as 16.

Hopper was initially charged in July 2025 with two counts of fraud by false representation and assisting grievous bodily harm. These charges were later expanded to include possession of extreme videos. While the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust reassured patients that none of his professional conduct involved them directly, legal representatives for several amputees called for a public inquiry into his decade-long tenure.

The fallout from the case has been devastating for Hopper personally. His wife has filed for divorce, he has lost his medical license, and financial hardship looms with the likely loss of his home. In court, his lawyer admitted, “He knows in the days and weeks that followed, he let himself down in the most shameful way.”

Hopper himself insisted, “My thoughts and behaviour have not had any effect on my job. I worked very hard and always tried my best for my patients.”

Richard Parkhouse of the Crown Prosecution Service summed up the case as “highly unusual and shocking,” with prosecutors now pursuing proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2022 to strip Hopper of any financial gains linked to his offenses.

What began as the downfall of a once-celebrated surgeon has since become a chilling cautionary tale—one of hidden obsessions, fractured identity, and the irreversible consequences of secret double lives.