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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent female lion rescued from war-torn Ukraine has undergone vital dental surgery to remove a severely infected fang caused by an infection.

Lira was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 following a fundraising effort by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who raised £500,000 to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

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

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the broken tooth was highly inflamed," said Mr Kertesz.

He believed the infection was due to a trauma sustained more than a year ago, causing bacteria creating toxins within the fang.

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

Mr Kertesz clarified that as Lira no longer required to hunt for food, extraction was the most "logical and humane option."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary reported the removed fang was 3.14 inches in length, with the dentist having to remove a pocket of pus from under the fang and seal the large wound with seven dissolving sutures.

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

The curator, curator at the facility, said the operation was a "complete success."

She noted the team had observed "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to assess "the extent of the problem."

"Lira 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 marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.