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The Big Cat Sanctuary

A three-year-old female lion rescued from war-torn the war zone has undergone vital oral operation to extract a severely infected fang caused by an infection.

Lira was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on 14 March following a fundraising effort by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who collected half a million pounds to support her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

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 right away the broken tooth was severely infected," stated Mr Kertesz.

He thought the infection was due to a injury sustained over twelve months back, leading to bacteria producing harmful substances within the fang.

"My philosophy is non-human oral health issues need to be treated in the safest, the least invasive and safest way," he explained.

The expert explained that as Lira no longer required to catch prey, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to remove a accumulated infection from beneath the tooth and seal the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was discovered to have a similar issue.

Briony Smith, manager at the facility, declared the operation was a "total triumph."

She said the staff had observed "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to determine "the extent of the problem."

"The lioness will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the infectious materials are removed from her system, 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 arrival from the conflict area.