COED Asks A Plastic Surgeon About The Real Life Barbie Doll

By harmonleon April 25, 2012 3:26 pm Posted in Features, Lifestyle, WTF harmonleon g+ page

Yesterday, the InterWeb was all a buzz over 21-year-old Valeria Lukyanova; the Ukrainian woman who transformed herself into a real-life Barbie doll. Many questions have been raised: COED speculated whether her transformation was due to plastic surgery, excessive make-up, Photoshop skills – or just a plain hoax.

What’s a person to believe about this freak of reality?

COED contacted, Dr. Michael Fiorillo – a board certified plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery – to weigh-in on real-life Barbie. This is him below:

Dr. Fiorillo’s experience also ranges from being a fight doctor for boxing in New York State to working in many championship fights at Madison Square Garden and Atlantic City. Onward with the questions!

COED: How would you react if someone came in to your office and wanted their body to be modified with the same proportions of a Barbie doll?

Dr. Fiorillo: I would start with a psychiatric exam to find out why she wanted to look like a Barbie doll. I could perform surgery to make her breasts larger and abdomen smaller and look similar to what she wants, but not like a Barbie.

COED: Do you think that Valeria Lukyanova has had cosmetic surgery to achieve her real-life Barbie looks? What are some giveaways that she has or hasn’t had cosmetic surgery?

Dr. Fiorillo: I think that she was born with similar features like Barbie but has had a rhinoplasty and breast augmentation and liposuction to the abdomen. She also had lips injections. But I am not sure that this is even a real person. Her facial expression is the same in every single photo.

COED: Would someone be able to function with the same proportions as a Barbie doll? I read that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel.

Dr. Fiorillo: She would be able to function fine. I don’t think that surgery would compromise any functions

COED: What would be the long-term effects – say 30-years from now – if 21-year old Valeria Lukyanova did have Barbie doll cosmetic surgery?

Dr. Fiorillo: There probably wouldn’t be any long term effects for the procedures I previously described.

COED: Do you think there’s something mentally wrong with a person if they want their looks to be altered to look like a famous celebrity – or in this case a Mattel doll?

Dr. Fiorillo: Yes, I do. She needs an evaluation by a psychiatrist. This is not what cosmetic surgery is for. It is for feeling and looking better.

The debate rages on. Do you think the real-life Barbie is actually a real person? Does this mentally disturbed Frankenstein-creation actually walk the planet? A crisp $20 bill to any COED reader who can comment with the correct answer. (The crisp $20 bill is subject to availability.)