🔗 Share this article Rescued Ukrainian Lioness Undergoes Essential Dental Operation The Big Cat Sanctuary A lioness named Lira receiving essential dental care to extract a badly infected tooth An adolescent lioness saved from conflict-ridden Ukraine has undergone vital dental surgery to remove a badly decayed fang resulting from an infection. The lioness was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 following a campaign by managing director Cam Whitnall, who raised half a million pounds to fund her and four other rescued lions. The Big Cat Sanctuary Amani and Lira are two of the big cats from Ukraine that arrived in March 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 immediately the broken tooth was highly inflamed," said the dentist. He believed the dental issue was due to a injury sustained more than a year ago, leading to bacteria producing harmful substances inside the tooth. "The approach I follow is non-human 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 "sensible and ethical solution." The Animal Rescue Facility Lira's extracted lower right canine tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to remove a accumulated infection 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 discovered to have a similar issue. Briony Smith, curator at the facility, declared the operation was a "total triumph." She said the team had observed "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to determine "how serious the condition was." "The lioness will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the toxins are removed from her system, she will start to feel much better over the coming days," commented the curator. The successful surgery represents a significant step in Lira's recovery after her rescue from Ukraine.