Amputee surgeon charged with fraud over ‘lying about how he lost his legs’

Neil Hopper carried out hundreds of amputation operations before going on to have both his own legs amputated.

An amputee surgeon has been accused of lying about how he lost his legs – and ‘encouraging’ others to remove limbs and body parts.

Neil Hopper, 49, a vascular surgeon from Truro, Cornwall, has been charged with three criminal offences following a two and a half year probe by cops.

The charges include two counts of fraud by false representation and encouraging someone else to remove the body parts of others.

The fraud charge states between June 3, 2019, and June 26, 2019, he dishonestly made a false representation to insurers, namely the injuries to his legs were the result of sepsis and were not self-inflicted, intending to make a gain.

He has been remanded in custody and is set to appear at Bodmin Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning.

The third charge states between August 21, 2018, and December 4, 2020 in Cornwall he bought videos from a website called The EunuchMaker showing the removal of limbs.

He is accused of encouraging Marius Gustavson to “remove body parts of third parties, which was capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable only offence.”

The charge states this “intentional infliction of injuries” would “amount to grievous bodily harm” and he is accused of “believing that the offence would be committed and that the act would encourage or assist in its commission.”

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, where Mr Hopper has been employed, has worked closely with Devon and Cornwall Police throughout the investigation.

A spokesperson for the trust 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 in at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals from 2013 until he was suspended from duty in March 2023, following his initial arrest.

“Former patients with any questions or concerns about their treatment can contact the Royal Cornwall Hospitals’ Patient Experience team on 01872 25 2793, or email rcht.patientexperience@nhs.net.”

Hopper carried out hundreds of amputation operations before going on to have both his own legs amputated. In 2020 he was named one of the bravest people in Britain.

Dr Neil Hopper received the Against All Odds title at the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons 2020, in a virtual ceremony hosted by BBC1 TV Breakfast presenter Rachel Burden.