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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent female lion saved from conflict-ridden the war zone has undergone critical oral operation to remove a severely infected canine tooth caused by an abscess.

The lioness was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 following a fundraising effort by director Cam Whitnall, who raised half a million pounds to support her and four other rescued lions.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was carried out on last week by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"When I examined Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see immediately the damaged fang was highly inflamed," stated Mr Kertesz.

He believed the dental issue was due to a trauma sustained more than a year ago, leading to bacteria producing toxins within the fang.

"My philosophy is non-human oral health issues should be addressed in the most predictable, the most conservative and most secure manner," he said.

Mr Kertesz clarified that as Lira no longer required to catch prey, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a root canal treatment on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was discovered to have a similar issue.

Briony Smith, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said 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."

"The lioness will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will begin improving over the coming days," commented the curator.

The successful surgery marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.