State-of-the-Art Medical Care From Nose to Tail; Veterinary Specialties Continue to Emerge

Alarge dog named Elsie is breathing steadily under anesthesia on the operating table. The curly white fur surrounding her useless eye turns crimson as Seth Koch of the Animal Eye Clinic in Silver Spring meticulously scoops dead tissue out of the socket. The animal ophthalmologist lifts a solid silicone ball with tiny tongs and gently places it into the shell of the existing eye. Pop! The black prosthetic eyeball slides into the socket.

"Beautiful, let's close," says Koch.

As the staff tends to Elsie, patients and concerned owners gather in the homey waiting room filled with whimsical animal-oriented art. Framed letters of appreciation from the National Zoo, like one signed by the District's late, great panda Hsing-Hsing, whom Koch operated on, hang in his office. This is not an ordinary vet clinic but one that specializes in acute and chronic eye problems.

It's the start of a hectic day and Koch, who has been practicing his specialty on the East Coast since 1969, next examines a cheery corgi named Khi. He diagnoses an ulcerated cornea. After numbing the dog's eye, Koch scrapes off the top layer of dead tissue, then does a tick-tack-toe grid with a needle to get down to a healthy skin layer.

Dewey Muller lumbers into the clinic with his 8-year-old beagle, Ginnie Mae. The retired Bethlehem …