Rescued from Ukraine Lioness Receives Essential Surgery

A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old lioness rescued from war-torn Ukraine has received critical oral operation to remove a badly decayed fang resulting from an infection.

The lioness arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on 14 March after a campaign by director the sanctuary's leader, who collected half a million pounds to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was performed on last week by veterinary 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," said the dentist.

He believed the dental issue was caused by a injury sustained over twelve months back, causing bacteria creating toxins within the fang.

"My philosophy is non-human oral health issues need to be treated in the safest, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.

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

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and close the significant opening with seven dissolving sutures.

He additionally conducted a root canal treatment on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected.

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

She noted the team had spotted "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to assess "how serious the condition was."

"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 coming days," commented the curator.

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