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The Big Cat Sanctuary

An adolescent female lion rescued from war-torn Ukraine has received critical dental surgery to extract a severely infected canine tooth caused by an abscess.

Lira was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March after a fundraising effort by director the sanctuary's leader, who collected £500,000 to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Rescue Center

The surgery was carried out on Friday by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has treated about 450 big cats.

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the broken tooth was highly inflamed," said the dentist.

He thought the infection was due to a injury experienced more than a year ago, leading to bacteria creating toxins inside the tooth.

"My philosophy is animal oral health issues need to be treated in the most predictable, the least invasive and safest way," he explained.

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

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary reported the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to remove a pocket of pus from under the fang and seal the significant opening with multiple absorbable stitches.

He additionally conducted a dental procedure on the corresponding top fang, which was also found to be infected.

Briony Smith, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the operation was a "total triumph."

She said the team had observed "a small lump 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 infectious materials are removed from her system, she will start to feel much better over the coming days," commented the curator.

This vital operation represents a significant step in Lira's recovery after her arrival from the conflict area.