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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent female lion rescued from conflict-ridden the war zone has undergone critical oral operation to extract a badly decayed fang resulting from an abscess.

Lira was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 following a fundraising effort by managing director Cam Whitnall, who collected half a million pounds to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Rescue Center

The surgery was carried out on last week by dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the damaged fang was highly inflamed," stated the dentist.

He believed the infection was due to a injury experienced more than a year ago, leading to bacteria producing harmful substances within the fang.

"My philosophy is animal oral health issues should be addressed in the safest, the least invasive and most secure manner," he said.

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness no longer required to hunt for food, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a accumulated infection from under the fang and seal the large wound with seven dissolving sutures.

He also performed a root canal treatment on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected.

Briony Smith, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, declared the operation was a "complete success."

She noted the team had observed "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to assess "how serious the condition was."

"Lira will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will start to feel much better over the coming days," added the curator.

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