🔗 Share this article

A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old lioness saved from conflict-ridden the war zone has undergone vital dental surgery to extract a badly decayed canine tooth caused by an infection.

The lioness arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March after a fundraising effort by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who collected £500,000 to support her and four other rescued lions.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The procedure 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 immediately the broken tooth was highly inflamed," stated the dentist.

He thought the dental issue was caused by a trauma sustained more than a year ago, causing germs producing toxins inside the tooth.

"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.

The expert clarified 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 removed fang was 3.14 inches in length, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a accumulated infection from under the fang and seal the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He additionally conducted a dental procedure on the corresponding top fang, which was also found to be infected.

Briony Smith, curator at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the operation was a "total triumph."

She said the staff had spotted "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to determine "the extent of the problem."

"The lioness will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the infectious materials are removed from her system, she will begin improving over the next few days," added Ms Smith.

This vital operation represents a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her arrival from the conflict area.