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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent lioness rescued from war-torn the war zone has received critical dental surgery to remove a severely infected canine tooth resulting from an infection.

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

The Rescue Center

The surgery was performed on last week by veterinary 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 damaged fang was highly inflamed," said Mr Kertesz.

He thought the dental issue was caused by a trauma sustained more than a year ago, causing bacteria producing harmful substances inside the tooth.

"The approach I follow is non-human oral health issues should be addressed in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he said.

The expert clarified that as Lira did not need to catch prey, removal was the most "logical and humane option."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The rescue center 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 multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a root canal treatment on the corresponding top fang, which was discovered to have a similar issue.

The curator, curator at the facility, said the procedure was a "complete success."

She noted the team had observed "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to determine "the extent of the problem."

"The lioness will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will start to feel much better over the coming days," commented Ms Smith.

The successful surgery represents a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.