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The Big Cat Sanctuary

An adolescent lioness saved from conflict-ridden the war zone has received vital dental surgery to extract a badly decayed canine tooth resulting from an infection.

The lioness was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March after a campaign by managing director Cam Whitnall, who raised half a million pounds to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

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

"When I examined the lioness's oral cavity, I could see immediately the damaged fang was highly inflamed," said the dentist.

He thought the infection was caused by a injury experienced over twelve months back, causing bacteria creating toxins within the fang.

"The approach I follow is animal oral health issues need to be treated in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he said.

The expert clarified that as Lira no longer required to hunt for food, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary said the removed fang was 3.14 inches in length, with the dentist having to remove a accumulated infection from under the fang and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He additionally conducted a dental procedure on the corresponding top fang, which was discovered to have a similar issue.

Briony Smith, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, declared the operation was a "complete success."

She noted the team had spotted "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to assess "the extent of the problem."

"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 next few days," commented Ms Smith.

The successful surgery marks a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her arrival from the conflict area.