Surgeon is jailed for fraud over his own amputations
Neil Hopper, a former NHS consultant vascular surgeon who inflicted injuries on himself—causing his legs to be amputated—was jailed for two years and eight months for making fraudulent insurance claims and possessing extreme pornography. Hopper, 49, submerged his feet in dry ice for eight hours, causing them to become “unviable,” and he underwent below-the-knee amputations in 2019, Truro Crown Court heard. He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false misrepresentation over claims that his injuries were caused by illness. Hopper obtained more than £466 000 from two insurance policies after telling insurers that he had had septicaemia. (Full story doi:10.1136/bmj.r1871)