🔗 Share this article

A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old female lion rescued from conflict-ridden the war zone has received vital dental surgery to extract a badly decayed canine tooth caused by an infection.

Lira arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 after 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 performed on Friday by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has treated about 450 big cats.

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the damaged fang was severely infected," stated the dentist.

He thought the infection was caused by a injury sustained over twelve months back, leading to bacteria producing toxins within the fang.

"My philosophy is non-human oral health issues should be addressed in the safest, the least invasive and safest way," he said.

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness did not need to catch prey, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 3.14 inches in length, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a accumulated infection 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, manager at the facility, declared the procedure was a "complete success."

She noted the staff had spotted "a small lump on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to determine "how serious the condition was."

"Lira will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will begin improving over the coming days," added the curator.

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