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A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old lioness saved from conflict-ridden the war zone has undergone vital oral operation to remove a severely infected fang resulting from an infection.

The lioness was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March after a fundraising effort by director Cam Whitnall, who raised half a million pounds to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The surgery was carried out on last week by dentist Peter Kertesz, 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," said the dentist.

He thought the dental issue was caused by a injury sustained more than a year ago, leading to 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 "sensible and ethical solution."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary reported the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and seal the significant opening 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, curator at the facility, declared the procedure was a "complete success."

She noted the team had observed "a small lump on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to determine "the extent of the problem."

"Lira will be a little uncomfortable 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," added the curator.

This vital operation marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.