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The Big Cat Sanctuary

A three-year-old female lion saved from conflict-ridden Ukraine has undergone critical oral operation to extract a badly decayed fang caused by an abscess.

The lioness arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 after a campaign by director the sanctuary's leader, who raised half a million pounds to support her and four other rescued lions.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The procedure was performed on Friday by dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has treated about 450 big cats.

"Upon inspecting the lioness's oral cavity, I could see immediately the damaged fang was highly inflamed," said Mr Kertesz.

He believed the infection was caused by a trauma experienced more than a year ago, causing bacteria producing harmful substances within the fang.

"My philosophy is non-human dental problems need to be treated in the safest, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness no longer required to hunt for food, removal was the most "logical and humane option."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with Mr Kertesz having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the large wound 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 facility, said the operation was a "total triumph."

She said the staff had observed "a minor swelling on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to determine "how serious the condition was."

"The lioness will be a little uncomfortable to begin with, 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 significant step in Lira's recovery after her rescue from Ukraine.