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The Big Cat Sanctuary

A three-year-old female lion saved from war-torn Ukraine has received critical dental surgery to remove a badly decayed canine tooth resulting from an infection.

The lioness was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 following a fundraising effort by director Cam Whitnall, who raised half a million pounds to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Rescue Center

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

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

He believed the dental issue was caused by a trauma experienced over twelve months back, causing germs producing toxins within the fang.

"My philosophy is animal oral health issues need to be treated in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.

The expert explained that as the lioness no longer required to hunt for food, removal was the most "logical and humane option."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary reported the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and seal 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, curator at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the procedure was a "total triumph."

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

"Lira will be somewhat sore to initially, but now that the toxins are removed from her system, she will begin improving over the coming days," added Ms Smith.

The successful surgery represents a significant step in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.