Going into surgery can be frightening enough for an adult, never mind a child.

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But one surgeon found a simple way to make the experience a little less daunting for his young patients – by turning their post-operation bandages into personalised works of art.

Dr. Robert Parry, a self-taught artist and surgeon at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio, creates original drawings on children’s dressings after their procedures.

It might only take him around five minutes to complete each illustration, but for some families, the gesture has become one of the most memorable parts of an otherwise stressful day.

Christina Potts Whipkey experienced that first-hand when her seven-year-old daughter Kennedy underwent hernia surgery.

Nine years later, one detail still stands out: the butterfly Parry drew on Kennedy’s bandage.

The black-and-white creation even featured hearts on its wings.

“There is an incredible amount of stress any time a child is ill,” Whipkey told CNN. “When there is a surgical schedule, parents work hard to hide their fear of the procedure, the financial stress of the situation, and their terror of something going wrong.

“The doctor told Kennedy and her siblings she would have a lovely butterfly after she was done. When Kennedy came out, everyone was excited to see what the doctor meant. Kennedy was so proud of the pretty bandage and not concerned about any scars.”

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Parry has been at Akron Children’s Hospital since 2011 and, according to a hospital profile published in 2017, had performed more than 10,000 surgeries.

His artwork eventually became a trademark of sorts.

Disney characters and sports team logos are among the most popular requests, while one particularly creative patient asked for a pun-inspired French salad “dressing” bottle.

And it isn’t only the children and their parents who look forward to seeing the finished result.

“It’s been a pretty special thing, for everyone. It’s fun for me to do, the parents and the children really enjoy it and even the whole medical staff likes to get in on it,” Parry told CNN. “Whenever one of my kids arrive in the recovery room, the nurses all like to take a look to see what dressing the child got. I think it just makes everyone, me included, feel good.”

Another family discovered Parry’s tradition in 2014.

Samantha Manning brought her 11-month-old daughter Rose to the hospital after she was diagnosed with a liver disease that typically requires a transplant.

Parry was among the doctors who operated on her and, appropriately, created a rose garden on the youngster’s dressing.

“We had no idea ahead of time that this was Dr. Parry’s special trademark,” Manning recalled. “We were really moved by it. The rose garden was symbolic of our larger experience with Dr. Parry and the hospital overall, taking the extra step to do those small, little gestures. It shows how much they care and really lifted our spirits.”

Parry’s illustrations were later highlighted by the hospital among its top 10 moments of the decade, while a photograph of him creating one of his drawings also reached the front page of Reddit.

For children facing an intimidating experience, though, the real impact is much simpler.

They go into surgery needing a bandage – and come out with something designed to make them smile.

Featured image credit: Akron Children’s Hospital