Surgeon ‘amputated his own legs after buying videos from Eunuch Maker’ | News UK

A vascular surgeon who carried out hundreds of amputation operations before having his legs removed has been charged with fraud.

Surgeon Neil Hopper, 49, has also been charged with encouraging someone else to remove the body parts of others.

He’s set to appear in front of Cornwall Magistrates’ Court today, accused of two counts of fraud by false representation, and a charge of encouraging or assisting in the commission of an indictable-only offence, namely grievous bodily harm.

Between June 3 and June 26 in 2019, Hopper is accused of lying to insurers and saying his leg injuries were the result of ‘sepsis and were not self-inflicted’, in order to get a payout.

He’s also accused of buying sick videos from The EunuchMaker website, which showed the removal of limbs.

The videos, purchased between August 2018 and December 2020, ‘encouraged Marius Gustavson to remove body parts of third parties’.

Gustavson was jailed for 22 years after performing illegal castrations and livestreaming them on the dark web.

The operations were filmed and uploaded to Gustavson’s ‘Eunuch Maker’ website for paying subscribers, netting the Norwegian over £300,000 over a six year period.

Hopper has not worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust since March 2023.

He’s been under restrictions in his practice while the General Medical Council investigated, and he has been suspended from the medical register since December 2023.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokeswoman said: ‘The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, where Mr Hopper has been employed, has worked closely with Devon and Cornwall Police throughout the investigation.’

A hospital trust spokesman added: ‘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.

‘Former patients with any questions or concerns about their treatment can contact the Royal Cornwall Hospitals’ patient experience team.’

The Consultant Vascular Surgeon at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust has performed hundreds of amputations in his career.

He even featured in a documentary about his progress towards heading to space.

Hopper was also a former Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Exeter.

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