Saved from Ukraine Lioness Undergoes Critical Dental Operation
The Big Cat Sanctuary
A three-year-old female lion rescued from conflict-ridden the war zone has received vital dental surgery to remove a severely infected fang caused by an infection.
Lira arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on 14 March following a fundraising effort by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who collected £500,000 to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.
The Rescue Center
The surgery was performed on Friday by dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has treated about 450 big cats.
"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see immediately the damaged fang was highly inflamed," stated Mr Kertesz.
He thought the dental issue was caused by a trauma sustained over twelve months back, leading to germs creating toxins inside the tooth.
"The approach I follow is non-human dental problems need to be treated in the safest, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.
Mr Kertesz clarified that as Lira did not need to hunt for food, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."
The Big Cat Sanctuary
The sanctuary reported the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to remove a accumulated infection from under the fang and close the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.
He additionally conducted a root canal treatment on the corresponding top fang, which was discovered to have a similar issue.
Briony Smith, curator at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the operation was a "complete success."
She said the staff had spotted "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to assess "the extent of the problem."
"Lira will be somewhat sore to initially, but now that the infectious materials are removed from her system, she will start to feel much better over the next few days," commented Ms Smith.
The successful surgery marks a significant step in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.
