🔗 Share this article

The Big Cat Sanctuary

An adolescent female lion saved from war-torn the war zone has undergone vital dental surgery to extract a severely infected canine tooth resulting from an abscess.

The lioness arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March after a campaign by director Cam Whitnall, who collected £500,000 to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Rescue Center

The surgery was performed on last week by dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"Upon inspecting the lioness's oral cavity, I could see immediately the broken tooth was severely infected," stated the dentist.

He thought the infection was due to a trauma sustained over twelve months back, leading to germs creating toxins inside the tooth.

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

The expert explained that as Lira no longer required to catch prey, extraction was the most "logical and humane option."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The rescue center said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to remove a pocket of pus from under the fang and seal the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a root canal treatment on the corresponding top fang, which was also found to be infected.

Briony Smith, manager at the facility, declared the procedure was a "total triumph."

She said the staff had spotted "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to determine "how serious the condition was."

"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 next few days," commented Ms Smith.

This vital operation marks a significant step in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.