Cornwall surgeon who organised amputation of his own legs struck off
Andrew Neil Hopper has 28 days to appeal the decision
A former surgeon from Truro - who froze his own legs so they had to be amputated - has been struck off the medical register and banned from working as a doctor.
It's after a tribunal said it doesn't believe Andrew Neil Hopper, who performed amputations as part of his job as a Consultant Vascular Surgeon at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, can practise medicine safely or effectively any longer.
He has 28 days to appeal the decision, after which the erasure will come into effect.
The 50-year-old is already in prison - having been jailed for 32 months in September last year after admitting to two counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of possession of extreme pornographic images
He'd pocketed over £466,000 in insurance payouts after lying about why his legs were amputated. He claimed it was caused by sepsis, when his injuries were actually self-inflicted.
He spoke to the medical tribunal from prison yesterday (28th May), insisting his patients “always came first”, but the panel ruled his actions mean he’s not fit to practise medicine.
Fraud coming to light
The fraud came to light after Hopper was investigated for paying to access a website called EnuchMaker, which sold videos of amputations and body modification, including penises being removed. The website has since been shut down.
Hopper suffered injuries to his legs in April 2019 which resulted in them being amputated below the knees. While he claimed the injuries to his limbs were the result of sepsis, he had in fact caused them himself by placing his legs into a mixture of ice and dry ice he had purchase online.
Speaking at the time of his sentencing, Richard Parkhouse of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This is a highly unusual and shocking case which came to light during an investigation into a website selling extreme images of amputations and body modification.
“Hopper has a sexual fetish linked to amputation, and paid to access these images for his own gratification.
“In his communications with the owner of the website, the truth about Hopper’s own injuries was revealed: that the damage that led to his double leg amputations had been self-inflicted. Hopper failed to disclose this fact when making two insurance claims for his injuries, and fraudulently pocketed almost half a million pounds.
“The CPS will be making an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2022 to recover the money that Hopper acquired through this fraud.”
Building the case
The offences were identified following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into the EunuchMaker website run by Marius Gustavson. The site offered pay-to-view access to videos of Gustavson carrying extreme body modifications and mutilations on paying customers.
Investigators found that Hopper had paid to access the website and had exchanged over 5,000 messages and emails with Gustavson, including ones in which they discussed the double amputation of Hopper’s lower legs. These exchanges included Gustavson providing Hopper with advice and guidance on how to freeze his legs.
A PayPal transaction revealed that Hopper made an online purchase of 20kg of dry ice pellets on 14 April 2019, just days before paramedics found him at home with serious injuries to his feet and legs on 17 April.
Following the amputations, Hopper made insurance claims to Avia and Old Mutual Wealth that paid out £235,622.14 and £231,031.67 respectively, a total of £466,653.81. The policies provided a lump sum in the event of death or critical illness Hopper did not disclose that his injuries were self-inflicted.
In a separate case, Marius Gustavson pleaded guilty to various offences including five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was jailed for life in May 2024 and ordered to serve at least 22 years in prison.