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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent lioness saved from conflict-ridden the war zone has undergone critical dental surgery to remove a badly decayed canine tooth caused by an abscess.

The lioness arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 following a fundraising effort by managing director Cam Whitnall, who collected half a million pounds to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Rescue Center

The surgery was performed on last week by dentist Peter Kertesz, who has treated about 450 big cats.

"When I examined Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see immediately the damaged fang was severely infected," said Mr Kertesz.

He believed the infection was caused by a trauma experienced over twelve months back, causing bacteria producing toxins within the fang.

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

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness no longer required to catch prey, removal was the most "logical and humane option."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and seal the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He additionally conducted a root canal treatment on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected.

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

She noted the staff had spotted "a small lump on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to determine "the extent of the problem."

"Lira will be a little uncomfortable 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," added Ms Smith.

The successful surgery represents a significant step in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.