Dr. Chalao Pongprayoon

Dr. Chalao Pongprayoon (Thai: พญ. เฉลา พงศ์ประยูร) is an ophthalmologist, or eye specialist, at Bumrungrad International Hospital in the Watthana district of Bangkok. The hospital's English profile names her 'Chalao Pongprayoon, M.D.', places her on the doctor roster of its Eye Center, and files her under two sub-specialties: Oculoplastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Comprehensive Ophthalmology. Oculoplastics is the eye-specialist field concerned with the eyelids, the tear passages and the bony cavity (orbit) that houses the eye, and that label is why her profile sits with the oculoplastic doctors on this site.

What sets her profile apart is its single named clinical interest: fabrication of ocular prostheses, that is, making artificial eyes. The Thai-language profile uses the plain phrase การทำตาปลอม. Outside the hospital, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand (RCOPT) includes her in its public 'find an ophthalmologist' search, where her field of interest appears as general ophthalmology and her contact location as Bangkok. Bumrungrad gives her languages as Thai and English.

Before you contact her, three facts from the published record are worth weighing:

• Her listed work is not cosmetic. We found no official page that names her for blepharoplasty, double eyelid surgery or ptosis correction, or for any aesthetic operation at all, and this profile does not connect her with any of them.
• Her clinic timetable is blank. In the space where Bumrungrad shows a doctor's outpatient sessions, her profile reads 'NO OPD CLINIC'. Whether she currently sees patients is something our patient team has to ask the hospital.
• One documented workplace. Bumrungrad is the only hospital or clinic where we could confirm that she is listed.

To ask about seeing her, request a consultation with Dr. Chalao Pongprayoon. Our patient team forwards the request to Bumrungrad and writes back after the hospital tells us whether, and on what dates, she is available. No date is fixed until you receive our confirmation.

Two qualifications appear on Bumrungrad's English and Thai profiles for Dr. Chalao Pongprayoon. They are the full extent of the training record we could verify:

• M.D., Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, 1973. On the Thai profile the same degree reads แพทยศาสตรบัณฑิต, with the year given as 2516 in the Buddhist-era calendar.
• Thai Board of Ophthalmology diploma, 1979 (วุฒิบัตร สาขาจักษุวิทยา, dated 2522 on the Thai page). In Thailand, a วุฒิบัตร in a specialty is the board-level certificate awarded after specialist training, so this is the credential that identifies her as a qualified ophthalmologist.

Gaps in the published record. Neither profile names the hospital where she trained as an eye resident, a fellowship in oculoplastic surgery, or any course in making ocular prostheses, and no other official page we opened fills those gaps. The Oculoplastic & Reconstructive Surgery label is a classification Bumrungrad applies on its own website; it is not listed as a separate qualification. If specific training in socket surgery or prosthesis making would influence your choice, put the question to the hospital. Our patient team can send it in writing for you.

Where she is listed professionally. RCOPT's public directory shows her as แพทย์หญิง เฉลา พงศ์ประยูร, with general ophthalmology as her field of interest. The entry gives no membership class and no year of joining. The plastic surgeons' society, ThPRS, does not include her among its members; because ThPRS is a society for plastic surgeons, that absence says nothing about an eye specialist's standing.

Licence check. A licence lookup is not shown on this page. Our name search on checkmd.tmc.or.th, the register kept by the Medical Council of Thailand, was halted by a Cloudflare block on 27 September 2026 before any result appeared. You can repeat the lookup there yourself by typing her Thai name, เฉลา พงศ์ประยูร. The kinds of source we rely on, and how each check is dated, are set out in our provider research methodology.

Bumrungrad International Hospital lists Dr. Chalao Pongprayoon as a current ophthalmologist and includes her in the Eye Center's published roster of doctors, the department under which the hospital groups oculoplastic and reconstructive eye surgery. Her profile page remained online at our latest check, on 27 September 2026.

Reading the 'NO OPD CLINIC' notice. OPD is short for outpatient department. On her profile, the words 'NO OPD CLINIC' stand where clinic times would normally be listed, which means Bumrungrad is not advertising regular outpatient sessions for her. The notice gives no reason, and it does not say whether she sees patients by appointment, only on certain days, or not at present. We will not guess. If you are travelling from abroad, wait until the hospital has offered a date through our patient team before you pay for flights.

Details the hospital does not publish. There is no start date for her post at Bumrungrad, no list of earlier appointments, no teaching or departmental role and no count of patients treated or prostheses made, so this page gives none of those. We looked for her in the doctor listings of several other Bangkok hospitals without finding her; that does not rule out a practice our searches could not reach.

Bumrungrad attaches three areas of work to Dr. Chalao Pongprayoon: one special interest and two sub-specialty labels. None corresponds to a cosmetic procedure guide on this site, so each is explained below in general terms, followed by the points worth raising if you consult her. What suits you can be decided only after an examination.

Artificial eyes (ocular prostheses)

Prosthesis fabrication is the one special interest the hospital names for her. In general, an ocular prosthesis is a thin, custom-shaped shell, usually of medical-grade acrylic, that sits behind the eyelids and gives the socket the appearance of an eye. It does not restore sight. Most people who wear one have had an eye removed, either whole (enucleation) or by taking out its contents while leaving the outer white wall in place (evisceration). An orbital implant is often placed during that operation to replace lost volume, and the prosthesis then rests in front of it. Where a blind eye has shrunk or become disfigured but has not been removed, a thinner shell, often called a scleral shell, can sometimes be fitted over it.

Custom prostheses are generally built in stages. The maker takes an impression of the socket, fits and adjusts a trial shape, and paints the iris and the white of the eye to match the other side before the final fitting. Each of those stages needs you present, so having an eye made usually means several appointments rather than one. An artificial eye usually moves less than a natural one; how much it moves depends on the socket and on what lies behind it. After fitting, it needs cleaning as advised, polishing and review at intervals, and eventually replacement, because sockets change over the years.

If you see Dr. Chalao about a prosthesis, bring the one you wear now, if you have one, and any records of the operation that removed the eye. Ask her how many visits she expects and how far apart they fall, because that sets the length of your stay in Bangkok.

Oculoplastic and reconstructive surgery

This is one of her two published labels. Broadly, oculoplastic surgery includes operations on the eyelids, the tear-drainage passages and the orbit, among them repairs after injury, after removal of a tumour or after loss of an eye. Several socket problems fall within it and can stop a prosthesis from sitting well: a socket that has contracted and become too shallow to hold the shell, an implant that has moved towards the surface, or a lower lid that has become too lax to support the prosthesis. Bumrungrad does not say which of these operations she carries out. If you have a socket or lid problem, ask whether she would treat it herself or pass you to a colleague.

Readers whose real interest is cosmetic eyelid surgery will find what those operations involve in our guides to blepharoplasty, double eyelid surgery and ptosis correction. Bumrungrad's Eye Center also lists other ophthalmologists under the oculoplastic heading whose profiles on this site document eyelid procedures from official sources: Dr. Kanjana Leelapatranurak, Dr. Virongrong Karnsiritanont, Dr. Nattawut Wanumkarng and Dr. Pornchai Mahaisavariya. We name them so you can compare profiles, not as a recommendation.

General (comprehensive) ophthalmology

Her remaining Bumrungrad label, and the field of interest shown by RCOPT, is general ophthalmology: examining, diagnosing and treating the wide range of everyday eye conditions. For someone with a single seeing eye, protecting that eye matters as much as the appearance of the prosthesis, so it is sensible to ask whether your other eye can be checked during the same visit. Because ThaiCosmeticSurgery.com covers cosmetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery, we do not describe general eye treatments on this page.

Because her published interest is artificial eyes, this section assumes that is your reason for contacting Dr. Chalao Pongprayoon: a first prosthesis after losing an eye, a replacement for one that has aged or stopped fitting, or a closer match to the other side. In general, a first prosthesis consultation includes an examination of the socket and eyelids, a look at any prosthesis you already wear, and a discussion of what you would like to change. The earlier question, whether she is available at all, is one our patient team settles with the hospital before you travel.

Questions to take with you:

• Is my socket ready for a new prosthesis, or does something need treating first? After a recent removal operation the socket generally has to heal before the final prosthesis is made, and the doctor decides when that point has been reached.
• Will the prosthesis be custom-made from an impression of my socket, and who shapes and paints it?
• How many visits will it take, how far apart are they, and can they fit within my stay in Bangkok?
• How closely can size, colour and position match my other eye, and how much movement is realistic for my socket?
• How should I clean it, how often does it need polishing or checking, and who could do that near my home?
• What should I do if it becomes uncomfortable after I have flown home?
• If my socket or eyelids need surgery, would you operate yourself or refer me elsewhere?
• Which items does the hospital's estimate cover, and what might alter it?

Problems to report. In general, mention soreness, discharge that keeps returning, redness, a prosthesis that rotates or falls out, lids that no longer close over it, or a hollow above it. Any of these can signal a socket or lid problem that may need attention before, or alongside, a new prosthesis. A sudden change in the sight of your seeing eye needs prompt medical care wherever you are.

Language. Bumrungrad's profile records Thai and English for her. If another language would be easier, the hospital has an interpreter service, and we can ask for an interpreter when we send your request.

Fees. We do not publish a price for her. Fees are set by Bumrungrad, and any figure given before she has examined you is an estimate rather than a final price.

The hospital's official address is 33 Sukhumvit 3 (Soi Nana Nua), in Bangkok's Wattana district. Everything below is a hospital service described on Bumrungrad's own website, not something ThaiCosmeticSurgery.com provides.

Before you fly. International patients can use the hospital's Medical Coordination Office (Building A, 10th floor) without charge. Its physicians and nurses look over medical records sent ahead, prepare price estimates, set up appointments or a telemedicine call, and deal with medical transport, embassies and insurance companies. The same office stays in touch while you are in Bangkok and after you leave, issuing medical reports and fit-to-fly letters and arranging follow-up. For a prosthesis patient, the most useful thing to obtain in advance is a proposed sequence of visits, which our patient team can ask for alongside your consultation request.

Arriving. At Suvarnabhumi Airport the hospital keeps a representative in the International Arrival Hall at Exit C, Gate 9, and the desk is open daily from 07.00 until 23.00. A free van leaves the airport for the hospital or nearby hotels each hour, depending on passenger numbers, and a no-charge van service also connects the hospital with the BTS Skytrain at Nana and Phrom Phong.

Language. Beyond Dr. Chalao's own Thai and English, Bumrungrad's factsheet counts more than 130 interpreters. Patients who would rather not use English can also turn to its Cultural Support Officers or a Cultural Helpdesk.

Staying longer. If fittings run over, the Business Center inside the hospital can arrange hotel reservations, air tickets and transport, and a visa extension service is coordinated with the Bangkok Immigration Office. The hospital also assists with embassies and international insurance.

Accreditation. Three accreditors list the hospital on their own registers: Joint Commission International under its Hospital Program; Global Healthcare Accreditation; and HA Thailand, at Advanced Hospital Accreditation level through 22 May 2029. Accreditation concerns the hospital's systems, not any individual doctor.

Plan around the fittings. Because an artificial eye is generally made over a series of appointments, a short visit may not be enough. Wait for the hospital's proposed schedule before fixing dates, and choose a return ticket you can change in case a fitting needs another adjustment. Plan the aftercare too: polishing and periodic checks are easier if you know before you leave who near home can provide them. Our Bumrungrad International Hospital profile has more on the hospital's departments, accreditation and location.

Good preparation lets the hospital judge whether Dr. Chalao Pongprayoon is the right doctor for your question and how long to allow for the appointment. When the hospital's team asks for medical details or photos, use our booking form or WhatsApp number for them, so they reach the right people.

• Your reason for writing: a first prosthesis, a replacement, a problem with fit or colour, a socket or eyelid concern, or a general eye check.
• The affected eye's history: which side, when and where it was removed, whether the operation was an enucleation or an evisceration if you know, and whether an orbital implant was placed. An operation note or discharge summary answers most of these at once.
• The prosthesis you wear now: when and where it was made, and anything that troubles you, such as soreness, discharge, rotation, falling out or a colour that no longer matches.
• Your seeing eye: recent eye examination reports, your glasses prescription and any eye drops.
• Your general health: medical conditions, current medicines, allergies and past operations.
• Imaging: reports from any CT or MRI scan of the orbit.
• Photos, if requested: for example, a well-lit front view in natural light, eyes open and gazing straight at the camera, prosthesis in place and glasses off. The team may ask for other views.
• Travel details: your possible dates, how flexible they are, and whether you want an interpreter.

On the day, bring copies of all of this together with the prosthesis you currently wear.