Dr. Sinisa Grozdanic, an assistant professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, performed the operation, deemed the first canine corneal transplant in the U.S. The two-step surgical procedure involves cutting out the dog's cornea and suturing a permanent, artificial cornea to the eye.

Grozdanic says corneal transplants that involve live donor tissue often fail because of the likelihood of rejection. The plastic cornea used was a prototype that's not yet commercially available.