Neil Hopper: The surgeon with a dark obsession
The Eunuch MakerThere is no doubt that one of the most terrifying types of criminals is medical professionals. We put our absolute trust in doctors, nurses, and surgeons when we are at our most vulnerable. Knowing that there are some who would take advantage of their position in the medical field to commit crime is more than a little disturbing.
Renowned vascular surgeon Neil Hopper is a particularly unsettling example. On the outside, Hopper was a talented surgeon who had gone through an unimaginable struggle. The truth was much more sinister. Hopper’s hidden sexual interest in amputation and his fraudulent insurance claims eventually came to light, and his inspiring story unravelled.
Crime+Investigation examines how a respected surgeon's story of survival concealed a years-long deception that put his patients' trust to the test.
Who is Neil Hopper?
Andrew Neil Hopper, born 20th March 1976, is a vascular surgeon originally from Aberystwyth in Wales. In 2013, Hopper moved to Truro in Cornwall with his wife and children and started working at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. He seemed to be a normal, competent medical professional. During his career, he performed hundreds of procedures and specialised in amputations.
The lies
It appeared as though fate would not be kind to Hopper, as in 2019, he had to have both of his legs amputated due to sepsis. This tragedy would not keep Hopper from living life to the fullest.
He received his own documentary by Welsh public broadcast channel S4C, which shared the challenges he faced after becoming an amputee. It also focused on Hopper’s parastronaut dreams and how he made it pretty far into the recruitment process for the European Space Agency’s Parastronaut Feasibility Project.
The publicity didn’t end there. Hopper also took part in radio broadcasts and features in various kinds of press coverage. He even appeared on the popular British morning show This Morning with Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes.
Hopper’s narrative painted a picture of a dedicated surgeon who wasn’t letting a life-changing situation derail his life. The publicity was doing its job too, as Hopper was quick to win over the public. He began receiving plenty of genuine praise for his bravery as well as heartfelt support. That being said, it didn’t take long for the lies to start unraveling.
The truth
Hopper’s downfall began when the police started to investigate a man named Marius Gustavson. 47-year-old Gustavson, nicknamed the ‘Eunuch Maker’, was in charge of a disturbing body modification website that allowed people to watch grotesque procedures, such as genital mutilations.
During the investigation, authorities found that Hopper had bought videos of men voluntarily undergoing genital amputation. They also discovered around 1,500 messages between Gustavson and Hopper wherein they talked about double below-the-knee amputations. The messages included guidance from Gustavson on how Hopper could freeze his legs.
In April 2019, Hopper decided to amputate his own legs. Records from PayPal showed that, on 14th April, he bought 20kg of dry ice pellets. He then purposely damaged his legs by freezing them. On 17th April, Hopper was found at home with severe leg and foot injuries. He was taken to hospital, where he knew the medics would be looking for the warning signs of sepsis.
After Hopper had his legs amputated, he then made several false insurance claims. He was paid a total of £466,653 via two insurance companies. He was able to claim this due to policies regarding a lump sum in the event of critical illness or death.
Arrest, trial and sentencing
In March 2023, Hopper was arrested. He was suspended from medical duties shortly after, and by December 2023, he was stricken from the medical register completely. He was officially charged in July 2025, at which point the story became public and Hopper’s narrative fell apart.
At Truro Crown Court in September 2025, Hopper pleaded guilty to all five of his criminal charges. This included two charges of fraud by false representation and three counts of possessing extreme pornography (relating to the body mutilation content).
The court heard that Hopper had an extreme sexual interest in amputations, issues with body dysmorphia, and an obsessive fascination with the removal of his own body parts. Hopper was given a 32-month prison sentence as well as a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
Hopper’s actions have left his previous patients with fear that he may have performed unnecessary procedures on them to satisfy his fetishes. Enable Law, a medical serious injury and negligence firm, has supported patients by calling for an independent review from Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust. While the Trust’s internal reviews showed no clinical misconduct or harm to patients, a full public inquiry is still to come.
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