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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent lioness rescued from war-torn the war zone has received vital oral operation to remove a severely infected fang resulting from an abscess.

The lioness was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 after a fundraising effort by director the sanctuary's leader, who raised half a million pounds to support her and four other rescued lions.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was performed on last week by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has treated about 450 big cats.

"When I examined the lioness's oral cavity, I could see immediately the damaged fang was severely infected," stated Mr Kertesz.

He believed the infection was caused by a injury experienced over twelve months back, leading to germs producing harmful substances within the fang.

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

The expert explained that as Lira 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 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

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

Briony Smith, curator at The Big Cat Sanctuary, declared the procedure was a "total triumph."

She said the staff had spotted "a minor swelling on Lira's jawline" but it had been impossible to assess "the extent of the problem."

"Lira will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the toxins are out of her body, she will begin improving over the coming days," added Ms Smith.

This vital operation marks a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her arrival from the conflict area.