Local Surgeon Helps Design First Ever Barbie Doll With Scoliosis

MARINA DEL REY, CA — Mattel's diverse Barbie line just added a Chelsea doll that wears a brace around her waist to treat the curve in her spine, known as scoliosis, with the guidance of a local surgeon in Marina del Rey.

This doll, the Barbie company's first-ever doll with scoliosis, is a big win for representation Dr. Luke Macyszyn of the DISC Sports & Spine Center said because little girls experience the condition 10 times more than boys do. Macyszyn worked with the Mattel team to design the doll with the hopes that it would help normalize the struggles little girls with scoliosis face.

"I think this doll kind of normalizes the whole thing, saying, hey, just like there's regular Barbie dolls there's dolls that have scoliosis," Macyszyn said. "Just like there's people who don't have scoliosis, there's some people that do and this is just part of life and part of the human experience."

The new Chelsea doll, which are smaller than regular Barbie dolls and meant to represent Barbie's younger sister, includes a removable brace that is accurate to what a real brace used for the condition would look like. Her shoulders are uneven and there is a noticeable curve in her posture, much like is seen in people who have scoliosis.

Macyszyn said he was impressed while working with the design team at Mattel because they wanted to make the doll as clinically accurate as possible. The surgeon was more than happy to comply to make sure the doll accurately showed what it looked like to have scoliosis.

Though the process was very long with many prototypes and revisions made, Macyszyn said, it was all worth it, in the end, to see how the finished doll came out.

"I'm very happy that it came out so anatomically and clinically correct," Macyszyn said. "I think what impressed me about the whole thing is that they really did want to make this thing as clinically accurate as a small little Chelsea doll can be."

Barbie fans and collectors can purchase the 6-inch doll on the Mattel website for $7.99.