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A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old lioness rescued from war-torn Ukraine has undergone critical oral operation to remove a severely infected canine tooth resulting from an infection.

Lira arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on 14 March following a fundraising effort by managing director Cam Whitnall, who raised half a million pounds to support her and four other rescued lions.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was carried out on Friday by veterinary dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has treated about 450 big cats.

"When I examined the lioness's oral cavity, I could see immediately the broken tooth was highly inflamed," said Mr Kertesz.

He thought the dental issue was due to a injury sustained over twelve months back, causing bacteria producing toxins within the fang.

"My philosophy is non-human oral health issues should be addressed in the safest, the most conservative and most secure manner," he said.

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness no longer required to hunt for food, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The rescue center reported the removed fang was 3.14 inches in length, with the dentist having to extract a accumulated infection from beneath the tooth and seal the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He additionally conducted a root canal treatment on the corresponding top fang, which was discovered to have a similar issue.

Briony Smith, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, declared the operation was a "complete success."

She noted the team had observed "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to assess "how serious the condition was."

"The lioness will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will start to feel much better over the next few days," commented the curator.

The successful surgery marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.