🔗 Share this article

The Big Cat Sanctuary

A three-year-old lioness rescued from war-torn the war zone has undergone vital dental surgery to remove a severely infected fang resulting from an abscess.

The lioness arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 after a fundraising effort by director the sanctuary's leader, who raised half a million pounds to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Rescue Center

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

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

He thought the dental issue was due to a trauma sustained over twelve months back, causing germs creating harmful substances within the fang.

"The approach I follow is non-human oral health issues need to be treated in the most predictable, the most conservative and most secure manner," he said.

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

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to remove a accumulated infection 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 discovered to have a similar issue.

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

She noted the team had spotted "a minor swelling on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to determine "how serious the condition was."

"The lioness will be somewhat sore to initially, but now that the infectious materials are removed from her system, she will start to feel much better over the coming days," added Ms Smith.

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