The ophthalmology service has been in existence at St. Vincent's hospital for over a century. St. Vincent's Hospital opened on November 1, 1847, and acquired its first specialties in 1885.  In that year an ophthalmic surgeon of excellent reputation, Dr. Peter A. Callan, put in place the foundation of the department and remained its chief until 1921. After his retirement from active practice, he was a member of the consulting staff until his death in 1925.

His successor, Dr. Aquin S. Kelly, served as chief of Ophthalmology for twenty-four years. The chief of the Ophthalmic Service from 1942 until 1952 was Dr. James M. Houlahan.  A 1924 graduate of Tulane University, he interned at St. Vincent's Hospital and completed a residency at the Hermann Knapp Memorial Eye Hospital in New York City.  He joined St. Vincent's attending staff in 1939 and was a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at New York University School of Medicine.  At that time Ophthalmology residents and medical students from New York University Medical Center rotated through the ophthalmology service at St. Vincent's.  Dr. Ramon Castroviejo succeeded Dr. Houlahan in 1952.

Dr. Castroviejo was born in Logrono, Spain, the son of a prominent ophthalmologist of that city.  He received his pre-medical degree from the University of Madrid.  After an internship in the Red Cross Hospital in Madrid, he came to the Illinois Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital in Chicago for two years of residency, followed by a year of special study in the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.  In 1932 he was appointed Instructor in Ophthalmology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in New York.  He was a pioneer in the field of corneal transplantation and other aspects of ocular surgery.  His advanced techniques in keratoplasty and his publications established him as a recognized authority of international reputation.

Under his directorship, an ophthalmology residency program was begun at St. Vincent's Hospital in June 1958.  It consisted of one resident per year for three years.

The space assignment for the service was approximately 900 square feet in the outpatient clinic area of the Lowenstein Pavilion.  Approximately half this space was used as an operating suite and the other half as a single large room for ambulatory services.  Ophthalmology inpatients were scattered in various parts of the hospital with no possibility for detailed examination and treatment other than in the clinic area.  In all, the reputation of the department was primarily based on the fame of its chief.

Dr. Robert A. D'Amico succeeded his mentor as Director in 1970 and is the current Chairman of the department.  A graduate of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., he completed his residency at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his fellowship in corneal disease and surgery under Dr. Castroviejo.  He is a recognized specialist in the field of corneal surgery.  He has devoted the past twenty-six years to developing the department as it exists today.