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The Big Cat Sanctuary

An adolescent lioness rescued from war-torn Ukraine has received vital oral operation to remove a badly decayed fang resulting from an infection.

The lioness arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 after a fundraising effort by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who collected half a million pounds to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was carried out on last week by dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"Upon inspecting the lioness's oral cavity, I could see right away the damaged fang was severely infected," said Mr Kertesz.

He thought the infection was due to a injury experienced more than a year ago, causing bacteria producing toxins within the fang.

"My philosophy 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, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary reported the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and close 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, curator at the facility, declared the procedure was a "total triumph."

She said the staff had spotted "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to assess "how serious the condition was."

"The lioness 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," commented the curator.

The successful surgery marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.