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The Big Cat Sanctuary

An adolescent lioness rescued from war-torn the war zone has undergone critical oral operation to extract a badly decayed canine tooth resulting from an abscess.

Lira arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 after a campaign by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who raised £500,000 to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The surgery was carried out on Friday by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"When I examined the lioness's oral cavity, I could see right away the damaged fang was highly inflamed," stated the dentist.

He believed the dental issue was due to a injury experienced more than a year ago, leading to germs producing harmful substances inside the tooth.

"The approach I follow is non-human oral health issues need to be treated in the safest, the least invasive and safest way," he explained.

Mr Kertesz explained that as Lira did not need to hunt for food, extraction was the most "logical and humane option."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary reported the removed fang was 3.14 inches in length, with Mr Kertesz having to remove a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the significant opening with multiple absorbable stitches.

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

The curator, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the procedure was a "complete success."

She said the team had spotted "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to determine "how serious the condition was."

"Lira will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the toxins are removed from her system, she will begin improving over the next few days," commented Ms Smith.

The successful surgery marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.