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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent lioness saved from war-torn Ukraine has undergone vital oral operation to extract a severely infected fang caused by an abscess.

The lioness arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 following a fundraising effort by director Cam Whitnall, who collected £500,000 to support her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was performed on Friday by dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see immediately the broken tooth was highly inflamed," stated the dentist.

He believed the infection was due to a trauma experienced more than a year ago, causing germs producing harmful substances within the fang.

"The approach I follow is animal oral health issues should be addressed in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.

Mr Kertesz explained that as Lira did not need to catch prey, removal was the most "logical and humane option."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary said the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to remove a accumulated infection from beneath the tooth and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was discovered to have a similar issue.

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

She said the team had observed "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to determine "the extent of the problem."

"Lira will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the infectious materials are removed from her system, she will start to feel much better over the next few days," commented the curator.

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