Surgeon Causes Necrosis in Own Leg Due to Sexual Obsession... Commits Insurance Fraud

"My Leg Has Felt Unnecessary Since Childhood"
Possessed Numerous Obscene Materials Related to the Body

A British surgeon has been sentenced to prison for deliberately causing necrosis in his own leg and undergoing surgery in order to claim insurance money. It was revealed that he committed these acts due to a sexual obsession, shocking the public.

Local media outlets, including the BBC, reported that Neil Hooper, a 49-year-old surgeon from Cornwall County, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for insurance fraud and possession of obscene materials.

In May 2019, Hooper intentionally caused necrosis in his own leg using dry ice, then underwent an amputation at a hospital. He falsely told insurance companies that his leg injury was due to sepsis and collected a total of 466,000 pounds (approximately 874 million won) in insurance payouts from two companies.

Surgeon Neil Hooper, who cut off his own leg due to an obsession with body amputation. Photo by Neil Hooper's social media capture

Hooper’s bizarre actions were uncovered after a colleague reported him. During the investigation, he confessed that his obsession with removing body parts and sexual urges were his motivations. Hooper stated, "Since childhood, I considered my leg unnecessary, and amputation was something I had long desired."

His lawyer explained, "Hooper has suffered from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) since childhood."

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a type of mental illness characterized by an excessive negative perception and obsession with one’s appearance or a specific body part. It is described as a condition in which even minor or barely noticeable flaws are perceived as serious, significantly impacting the individual's life.

Hooper himself had been a surgeon who operated on patients’ legs for years. Police investigations revealed that he possessed a large amount of extreme obscene material related to body surgery.

Six months after his surgery, Hooper returned to the medical field with a prosthetic leg, but he was arrested by police in March 2023, and his medical license was suspended in December of the same year. The UK Crown Prosecution Service is currently proceeding with procedures to recover the illicit profits he obtained.