A new true crime documentary has been released studying the disturbing double life of an amputee surgeon from Aberystwyth who lied to get his own legs removed.

An Amputation Obsession: The Monster and the Surgeon has been released on Prime Video and explores the real-life story of former NHS vascular surgeon Neil Hopper, who is originally from Penrhyncoch.

He was jailed for fraud in 2025 after freezing his own legs and inflicted injuries on himself that led to a double amputation.

A court earlier heard he then fraudulently claimed more than £460,000 in insurance payouts by lying about the cause of his injuries and possessed extreme pornography.

Neil Hopper. An NHS vascular surgeon has admitted having his legs removed on purpose then lying about losing them to sepsis to claim a £466,000 insurance payout.Truro Crown Court heard today (Thurs) that Neil Hopper was in contact with Norwegian Marius Gustavson - known as The Eunuch Maker - who advised him on how to freeze his legs as he himself had done.The 49-year-old, who had carried out hundreds of amputation operations, then froze his legs while his wife and children were away and was later found by a family friend, it was said. Hopper, of Truro, Cornwall, was rushed to hospital, but told medical staff he had suffered flu-like symptoms.
Surgeon Neil Hopper (Devon and Cornwall Police / SWNS)

Hopper, now of Truro, Cornwall, was sentenced to 32 months in prison in September 2024, and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He was struck off the medical register in May this year.

The two-part documentary on Prime Video follows Hopper as BBC crews followed him following his double amputation and return to work with the dark truth behind his injuries not being known.

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.

FILE PHOTO - Surgeon Neil Hopper at The Royal Cornwall Hospital. A vascular surgeon who carried out hundreds of amputation operations before going on to have both his own legs amputated has been charged with fraud. Neil Hopper, aged 49, from Truro, has also been charged with encouraging someone else to remove the body parts of others. Devon and Cornwall Police issued a statement this morning saying: "Following an investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police which began in February 2023, a vascular surgeon from Cornwall has been charged with three criminal offences.
Surgeon Neil Hopper at The Royal Cornwall Hospital (Tom Last / SWNS)

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.

Hopper registered on the site in August 2018 and purchased three videos showing such procedures.

Hopper underwent bilateral below-knee amputations on May 17, 2019.

The documentary explores how Hopper was caught and the police investigation.

Three of Hopper's five convictions resulted from him buying three videos featuring the clamping and removal of male genitalia from Marius Gustavson, who was jailed for 22 years in 2024 for offences related to mutilating paying customers and streaming it online.