Home Industries Health Services Warwick doctor fined $1,100 for performing laser surgery on wrong eye

Warwick doctor fined $1,100 for performing laser surgery on wrong eye

By

Katie Castellani

-

08/14/2025

Screenshot 2024-06-04 at 11.44.01 AM — THE R.I. DEPARTMENT of Health has fined and reprimanded a doctor who allegedly performed a laser procedure on the patient’s wrong eye.

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health has reprimanded and fined a Warwick doctor $1,100 for performing a laser procedure on the patient’s wrong eye. The patient, not identified in RIDOH documents, had gone to Dr. Charles Calenda for bilateral posterior capsular opacities that developed after a cataract surgery. Bilateral posterior capsular opacities cause fuzzy

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PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health has reprimanded and fined a Warwick doctor $1,100 for performing a laser procedure on the patient’s wrong eye. The patient, not identified in RIDOH documents, had gone to Dr. Charles Calenda for bilateral posterior capsular opacities that developed after a cataract surgery. Bilateral posterior capsular opacities cause fuzzy vision and is a common complication of cataract surgery, according to the Cleveland Clinic’s website. The patient’s medical records show the condition was worse in their left eye. The patient saw Calenda in June 2023 and was set to have a YAG laser capsulotomy on their left eye. Calenda dilated the patient’s left eye to prepare for the procedure, but ended up performing the YAG laser capsulotomy on the right eye. YAG laser capsulotomy is a “quick, simple follow up procedure” that takes less than 10 minutes to treat posterior capsular opacities and involves a laser that sends out invisible pulses of energy into a patient’s eye, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The patient’s eye is dilated and numbed with eye drops before the procedure. Because the eye being treated is numbed the patient shouldn’t feel any pain during the procedure. About a year later, in June 2024, the patient filed a complaint with RIDOH alleging Calenda performed the laser treatment on the wrong eye. After an investigation, RIDOH determined Calenda likely engaged in “unprofessional conduct” for performing the procedure on the wrong eye and failing to get the patient’s consent to conduct the procedure on the right eye. Calenda EyeCare Centers in Warwick lists Calenda as an Ophthalmologist who has also served as Director of Ophthalmology for Roger Williams Medical Center since 1987. Calenda was licensed in 1982 to practice medicine in Rhode Island. Calenda has signed a consent agreement with RIDOH which puts a reprimand on his license and requires him to pay an $1,100 fine. Calenda could not immediately be reached for comment. Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.