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The Big Cat Sanctuary

An adolescent lioness saved from war-torn Ukraine has received vital dental surgery to extract a severely infected canine tooth resulting from 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 raised £500,000 to support her and four other rescued lions.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The procedure was carried out on last week by dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"When I examined Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the damaged fang was highly inflamed," stated the dentist.

He thought the infection was caused by a trauma sustained over twelve months back, leading to germs producing toxins inside the tooth.

"The approach I follow is animal oral health issues should be addressed in the safest, the least invasive and most secure manner," he said.

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

The Animal Rescue Facility

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

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

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

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

"Lira will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the toxins are out of her body, she will begin improving over the coming days," added the curator.

This vital operation marks a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her arrival from the conflict area.