The Department of Ophthalmology at St.Philomena's Hospital is the branch of medicine which deals with the diseases and surgery of the visual pathways, including the eye, brain, and areas surrounding the eye, such as the lacrimal system and eyelids. By convention the term ophthalmologist is more restricted and implies a medically trained surgical specialist. Since ophthalmologists perform operations on eyes, they are generally categorized as surgeons.

The eye, including its structure and mechanism, has fascinated scientists and the public in general since ancient times. The discovery of the eye went through two cycles of limiting speculation and freeing observation, which led to a dark age between Galen and Vesalius. Understanding of the eye had been so slow to develop because for a long time the lens was perceived to be the seat of vision, not a tool of vision. This mistake was corrected when Fabricius and his successors correctly placed the lens and developed the modern notion of the structure of the eye.

Ophthalmology includes sub-specialities, which deal either with certain diseases or diseases of certain part of the eye. Some of them are: Anterior segment surgery, Cataract, Cornea, ocular surface, and external disease, Eye trauma, Glaucoma, Neuro-ophthalmology, Ocular oncology, Oculo-plastic surgery, Ophthalmic pathology, Pediatric ophthalmology/Strabismus (squint), Refractive surgery, Retina and Vitreous (sometimes labelled as a posterior segment specialization) & Uveitis/Immunology.

For eg: A cataract is an opacification or cloudiness of the eye's crystalline lens due to aging, disease, or trauma that typically prevents light from forming a clear image on the retina. If visual loss is significant, surgical removal of the lens may be warranted, with lost optical power usually replaced with a plastic intraocular lens (IOL). Due to the high prevalence of cataracts, cataract extraction is the most common eye surgery.

Treatment of nearly all kinds of eye ailments and disorders are provided at the hospitals. This includes trauma cases, capsulotomy, Glaucoma, trabeculoplasty , Iridotomy, iridectomy, or surgical iridectomy, Filtering surgeries-Corneal surgery, Vitreo-retinal surgery, Eye muscle surgery, Oculoplastic surgery and others.