Saved Ukrainian Lion Undergoes Essential Surgery
A Wildlife Rescue Center
A three-year-old female lion rescued from conflict-ridden the war zone has received vital dental surgery to remove a badly decayed canine tooth caused by an abscess.
The lioness arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on 14 March after a campaign by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who collected £500,000 to support her and four other rescued lions.
The Rescue Center
The procedure 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 right away the damaged fang was highly inflamed," said Mr Kertesz.
He thought the infection was caused by a injury sustained more than a year ago, leading to germs creating harmful substances inside the tooth.
"My philosophy is non-human oral health issues need to be treated in the most predictable, the least invasive and safest way," he said.
The expert explained that as the lioness no longer required to catch prey, extraction was the most "sensible and ethical solution."
The Animal Rescue Facility
The rescue center reported the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the significant opening with multiple absorbable stitches.
He also performed a root canal treatment on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was discovered to have a similar issue.
Briony Smith, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the operation was a "complete success."
She noted the team had spotted "a small lump on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to assess "the extent of the problem."
"Lira will be somewhat sore to initially, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will begin improving over the coming days," commented Ms Smith.
This vital operation marks a significant step in the lioness's healing process after her rescue from Ukraine.
