Breast Lift: An Illustrated Guide for Patients
A patient-education project designed to help people considering breast lift surgery understand what to expect before, during, and after the procedure. Created for a clinic in Maastricht, the project explains the surgical process, expected recovery, and potential scarring in a way that is informative without being intimidating or graphic.
The project includes a patient brochure and an interactive click-through module that guides patients through the procedure step by step. Both deliverables use illustration to make the surgical process easier to understand while setting realistic expectations about recovery and the appearance of scars.
To ensure the illustrations accurately represented the procedure, I had the opportunity to observe a breast lift surgery firsthand before developing the artwork. This direct observation helped me determine which anatomical and surgical details were important to communicate and which could be simplified for a patient audience.
Printed Brochure:
Click-Through Module:
Video shows a demo of how the interactive module works. It can be embedded on a website or used locally in the clinic.
Designed for the Patient
The goal was to give patients an honest understanding of the procedure without overwhelming them with medical terminology or graphic surgical imagery. The illustrations use simplified anatomy and a friendly visual style to make the information approachable while remaining medically accurate.
Particular care was taken to communicate realistic expectations around the surgical process, recovery timeline, and scarring. Rather than presenting an idealized version of the procedure, the illustrations aim to prepare patients for what they may actually experience.
Sketches from the operating room
From Operating Room to Illustration
Before developing the illustrations, I had the opportunity to observe a breast lift procedure firsthand. Seeing the surgery provided valuable insight into the sequence of steps, the relationship between the anatomical structures, and the practical details of the procedure that can be difficult to understand from written descriptions or reference imagery alone.
These observations informed the development of the surgical sequence and helped me identify which details were essential to communicate visually for the patient audience.