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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent lioness rescued from conflict-ridden Ukraine has undergone vital dental surgery to remove a badly decayed canine tooth caused by an abscess.

The lioness was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 following a campaign by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who collected half a million pounds to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was performed on Friday by dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

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

He thought the dental issue was due to a trauma experienced more than a year ago, leading to bacteria creating toxins within the fang.

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

The expert 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 removed fang was 3.14 inches in length, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the large wound with seven dissolving sutures.

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

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

She noted the team had spotted "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to assess "the extent of the problem."

"Lira will be somewhat sore to initially, but now that the toxins are out of her body, she will start to feel much better over the next few days," commented Ms Smith.

The successful surgery marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.