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A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old female lion rescued from war-torn the war zone has undergone critical dental surgery to extract a badly decayed canine tooth caused by an abscess.

Lira was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 after 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 surgery was carried out on last week by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"Upon inspecting the lioness's oral cavity, I could see right away the broken tooth was severely infected," stated the dentist.

He believed the dental issue was due to a injury experienced over twelve months back, causing germs producing toxins inside the tooth.

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

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness no longer required to hunt for food, extraction was the most "logical and humane option."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The rescue center reported the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and close the significant opening with multiple absorbable stitches.

He additionally conducted a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected.

Briony Smith, curator at the facility, declared the procedure was a "complete success."

She said the staff had spotted "a small lump on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to assess "how serious the condition was."

"Lira will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the toxins are removed from her system, she will begin improving over the next few days," commented the curator.

This vital operation represents a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her rescue from Ukraine.