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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent female lion saved from conflict-ridden the war zone has received critical dental surgery to extract a severely infected fang caused by an abscess.

The lioness arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on 14 March after a campaign by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who raised half a million pounds to support her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was performed on last week by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see immediately the broken tooth was severely infected," stated the dentist.

He thought the dental issue was caused by a trauma sustained over twelve months back, causing bacteria creating harmful substances inside the tooth.

"My philosophy is animal dental problems need to be treated in the safest, the least invasive and most secure manner," he explained.

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness did not need to catch prey, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The rescue center reported the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a accumulated infection from under the fang and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He additionally conducted a root canal treatment on the corresponding top fang, which was also found to be infected.

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

She noted the staff had observed "a small lump on Lira's jawline" but it had been impossible to assess "the extent of the problem."

"The lioness will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will start to feel much better over the next few days," commented Ms Smith.

This vital operation represents a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.