A doctor who froze his own legs with dry ice as part of a sexual fetish has been struck off the medical register by a tribunal.
Neil Hopper, 50, was a consultant vascular surgeon at Treliske Hospital in Truro, Cornwall, when he was jailed for 32 months in September last year over a bizarre fraud worth over £466,000.
Truro Crown Court heard that Hopper, of St Erme, Truro, froze his legs with dry ice to the point that they required amputation, a craving which was sexually motivated.
Hopper pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation relating to claims totalling £466,653.81 made to two insurance companies that his legs had been amputated due to illness rather than self-inflicted injury.
He also admitted three charges of possessing extreme pornographic images, relating to videos by a website called the EunuchMaker run by Marius Gustavson, which depicted genital mutilation.
The court heard Hopper’s wife and children were away from their home in St Erme when he immersed his feet in dry ice on April 15, 2019. While doing this he messaged Gustavson, telling him: “It’s going to be awesome being a double amputee.”
Hopper used the amputations to make a gain of £235,622 from one insurer and £231,031 from another. He even appeared on ITV's This Morning where he told viewers he had lost his legs to sepsis after an accident during a family camping expedition.
Hopper was identified following investigations into Gustavson, who led an extreme body modification ring which carried out male castration, penis removal and other procedures on people as young as 16.
On Friday, May 29, a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing resulted in Hopper's name being struck off from the medical register.
The Tribunal notice stated: "[We] determined that Dr Hopper lacks insight into the seriousness of the allegations in relation to the pornography and the fraudulent insurance claims.
"A surgeon receiving sexual gratification from amputation or mutilation pornography is not compatible with how the public should perceive a competent doctor... bearing in mind Dr Hopper’s specialism as a vascular surgeon, his behaviour and lack of insight in this regard was particularly concerning.
"The Tribunal also determined that the fraud elements of this case would seriously damage public confidence in the profession given the serious dishonesty and subsequent fraudulent financial gain, particularly in a medical environment where Dr Hopper had lied to numerous medical professionals to further enable his fraudulent claims.
"The Tribunal further determined that Dr Hopper’s behaviours fall seriously below the expected professional standards.
"It is noted that Dr Hopper had submitted that he wished to separate his personal “shortcomings” from his professional life. However, the Tribunal determined that this is not possible. The public and the profession expect a certain standard of behaviour in both the personal and professional life of a registrant.
"Dr Hopper’s behaviours leading to his convictions demonstrated a blatant disregard of all standards expected."
Hopper himself gave evidence that his striking off was "inevitable" and he had not sought to remain on the medical register. The tribunal handed down an immediate erasure order.
