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A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old female lion rescued from conflict-ridden Ukraine has received vital dental surgery to remove a badly decayed fang resulting from an abscess.

Lira was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 following a fundraising effort by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who raised half a million pounds to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Rescue Center

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

"When I examined Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the damaged fang was highly inflamed," said Mr Kertesz.

He believed the dental issue was due to a injury sustained more than a year ago, leading to germs producing harmful substances inside the tooth.

"The approach I follow is animal oral health issues need to be treated in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.

Mr Kertesz explained that as Lira no longer required to catch prey, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary reported the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to remove a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and close 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.

The curator, curator at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the operation was a "total triumph."

She said the staff had spotted "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult 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 next few days," added the curator.

This vital operation marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.