đź”— Share this article Rescued from Ukraine Lioness Undergoes Essential Surgery A Wildlife Rescue Center A lioness named Lira receiving essential dental care to extract a badly infected tooth A three-year-old female lion saved from conflict-ridden Ukraine has undergone vital dental surgery to extract a severely infected canine tooth resulting from an abscess. The lioness was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March following a campaign by director the sanctuary's leader, who raised ÂŁ500,000 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 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 broken tooth was highly inflamed," stated Mr Kertesz. He believed the infection was caused by a injury experienced over twelve months back, causing bacteria creating harmful substances within the fang. "The approach I follow is animal oral health issues need to be treated in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he said. The expert clarified that as Lira no longer required to catch prey, removal was the most "logical and humane option." The Animal Rescue Facility The removed fang measured 8 centimeters, equivalent to 3.14 inches The rescue center said the removed fang was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to remove a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches. He also performed a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was discovered to have a similar issue. The curator, curator 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." "The lioness 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 marks a major milestone in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.