🔗 Share this article Saved from Ukraine Lioness Receives Essential Surgery The Big Cat Sanctuary Lira the lioness from The Big Cat Sanctuary undergoing critical dental surgery to remove a severely infected lower right canine tooth An adolescent lioness saved from war-torn Ukraine has received vital dental surgery to remove a severely infected fang resulting from an infection. Lira arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 following a fundraising effort by director the sanctuary's leader, who collected half a million pounds to support her and several other lions from Ukraine. The Rescue Center Two lions, Amani and Lira, were among the animals rescued from Ukraine and brought to the sanctuary The procedure was carried out on last week by dentist Peter Kertesz, who has treated about 450 big cats. "When I examined Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the broken tooth was severely infected," said the dentist. He believed the dental issue was due to a injury experienced over twelve months back, causing germs creating toxins inside the tooth. "The approach I follow is non-human dental problems need to be treated in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he said. Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness no longer required to catch prey, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution." The Animal Rescue Facility The removed fang measured 8 centimeters, equivalent to 3.14 inches The sanctuary said the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and seal the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches. He additionally conducted a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected. The curator, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, declared the procedure was a "complete success." She said the staff had observed "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to assess "how serious the condition was." "The lioness will be somewhat sore to initially, but now that the toxins are removed from her system, she will begin improving over the coming days," commented Ms Smith. This vital operation marks a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her arrival from the conflict area.