🔗 Share this article

The Big Cat Sanctuary

An adolescent female lion saved from conflict-ridden the war zone has undergone critical dental surgery to remove a severely infected canine tooth caused by an infection.

The lioness arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March following a campaign by managing director Cam Whitnall, who collected £500,000 to support her and four other rescued lions.

The Rescue Center

The procedure was performed on Friday by dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

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

He believed the dental issue was due to a trauma experienced more than a year ago, causing bacteria producing toxins within the fang.

"The approach I follow is non-human dental problems need to be treated in the safest, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.

The expert explained that as Lira did not need to hunt for food, removal was the most "logical and humane option."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary reported the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to remove a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the significant opening with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a dental procedure 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 staff had spotted "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to assess "how serious the condition was."

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

The successful surgery marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.